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cXI V or THE- 




6y R.W.N/anHoesen 

FRANKLINVrLLe,N.Y 

pRice- $1.00 




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FRANKLINV(LLIr-,N.Y 
PRICE- $1.00 



Copyrighted 1915 

By 

R. W. Van Hoesen, Franklinville, N. Y. 






^^ 



©CU 41 4 601 



NOV 15 1915 



Jntrobuction 



HEN one reads something historical they natural^ wish to know 
something about the qualifications of the person who assumes to 
speak with authority. We therefore take this opportunity to present to 
the readers of this book the credentials of the author, and trust that the 
book may prove both interesting and instructive, and believe that the 
practical experience of the best Ancona breeders will corroborate the 
statements herein contained. 

The author is a practical poultryman of over thirty years experience 
with many breeds. He was brought up on a large farm, and has raised 
both large and small flocks on both unlimited range and close confine- 
ment, and has Anconas under both conditions. 

He has made a pronounced success of the business, and has one of 
the best strains of Anconas in the country, — "Beauty Strain" of his own 
production. He for years produced only market fowls and eggs. Later 
he successfully conducted a private egg and broiler trade in a neighbor- 
ing city. Finally he went into the "Fancy" exclusively, and during the 
past few years his Single and Rose Comb Anconas have found friends 
and admirers in the show rooms and patrons' flocks in every State of the 
Union, and Provinces of Canada. 

More articles on Anconas have been published in the Poultry, Agri- 
cultural and Live Stock magazines from his pen than from ail other 
sources combined. In 1910 he established The Ancona World maga.zine, 
which has been published every month since, and has been the leading 
Ancona booster during this time. The magazine has twice been en- 
larged, and was from the first accorded a high place in the esteem of 
leading American and English Ancona breeders. 

He was one of the leading factors in revising the Ancona Standard. 
He secured the hand-colored lantern slides of Anconas and gave them to 
the American Poultry Association for use in their national Lecture 
Bureau. Under his direction, and entirely the result of his personal 
effort (and largely from his own funds) was given to the world the first 
correct colored plate of Anconas, showing the male and female of true 
Ancona tj^pe presented in colors true to life. This color plate is a 
Classic among the poultry pictures of the world. 

The Author of this Ancona History (revised second edition) at 
present holds the following position in the poultry world: Secretary of 
the United Ancona Club; Vice-president of the Ancona Club of England; 
Vice-president of the Cattaraugus County Poultry Association; member 
of the International Ancona Club; member of the American Poultry 
Association; Editor of The Ancona World; Author of the History of 
Anconas. 

Cordially yours, 

THE PUBLISHERS. 



ORIGIN OF ANCONAS I 






HERE is nothing mysterious nor even doubtful about the origin of 
Ancona fowls. 



They are native of Italy, and have been bred there for centuries, as 
they are today. An attempt has been made to discover if they were pro- 
duced by crossing other breeds, but absolutely no knowledge of any such 
origin is obtainable from any source. Therefore we must content our- 
selves with the fact that all supposition of Anconas being a cross-breed 
is mere idle gossip, and has not the least foundation for liklihood what- 
ever. 

In August, 1910, I wrote the American Consul at Rome, Italy, hop- 
ing to secure some information on this subject, and after carefully in- 
vestigating the matter Mr. Coleman could not throw any light on the 
subject. The following extract from the relpy to my letter shows the 
status of Ancona fowls in their native country: 

"Ancona fowls are a breed of The Marches, a geographical designation 
embracing the Province and City of Ancona, Italy, and are considered 
the best in this country, both as producers of eggs and of meat." 

Ancona is not far distant from Rome. Italy is boot like in form, 
and the city of Ancona is on the Eastern coast where the peninsula has 
the greatest breadth. 

It will be seen from the foregoing that Anconas are an Italian fowl, 
of the Mediterranean class. In Italy the climate ranges from below zero 
in the mountain regions to 109 degrees above in the lower part during 
the hot season, and this great diversity doubtless accounts for the extreme 
hardiness of Ancona fowls, and their adaptability to the varied climates 
of America. 



I HISTORY OF ANCONAS t 

NGLAND, conceded to be the foremost poultry country, took up 
breeding Anconas in 1848. The breed met the critical demands of the 

English for a profitable fowl, and has become one of the popular and 

stable breeds of that country. 

America first imported Anconas in 1890 from England, but at that 
time poultry matters were slower than at present, and it was several years 
before they became kno\vn to but a small circle of poultrymen. 

It is not out of place right here to state that the breed has never 
been exploited. The first importations were made without any blare of 
trumpets. And it was years before they were exhibited, advertised, and 
pictured. In fact I doubt that any breed of fowls ever attained the wide- 
spread popularity that Anconas have with as little boosting. They were 
well established as a utility fowl for years before they were taken up by 
fanciers, and I consider this a good strong argument in their favor. It is 
well to look with suspicion upon those breeds that are first introduced 
through the fancy, as it is not unlikely that their boom will prove un- 
warranted when the fowls are required to "make good" on the utility 
side. I would not belittle the fanciers part in the poultry business, and 
believe that we owe much to them for the present high place occupied by 
the poultry business. I agree with the old saw that "Utility is the wagon 
that carries the load, and Fancy is the Avheels that make it move," but 
we must not forget that Wheels without the Wagon are of little use. 

I would compare a new breed first exploited through the fancy to 
some of the many gold mine properties flaunted before the public. They 
look very good in pictures, and the prospectus is most enticing; successful 
men are associated in their developcment, and their organization is per- 
fect. The possibilities look great, but before you put your money in, find 
out if they have 'panned out any gold! When a breed has been established 
long enough to prove its worth and is popular because of its merit, then 
it can be boosted to the limit, and people can safely tie to it. 

It was not until 1895, five years after they were brought to America, 
that Anconas were admitted to the American Standard of Perfection. 
And not for twenty years after their introduction were they illustrated 
by the American Poultry Association. 

The Ancona breed began to engage the attention of the American 
poultry public in a considerable degree in 1905, after they had been bred 
here for fifteen years, and had proven themselves to be a breed of great 



merit. Then it was that the fanciers became interested and made con- 
certed efforts to more widely introduce them to the attention of the 
poultry world. 

An Ancona club was formed, descriptive circulars were distributed, 
the fowls were pictured and written up in the poultry magazines, and 
exhibition was encouraged. This may be said to be the beginning of The 
Ancona Era. 

The early writers of Ancona history in many instances had more 
fluency than veracity, and as a consequence many vagaries got into print 
concerning the breed. These statements were taken for granted to be 
true and were copied generally. One in particular that went the rounds 
was that "Anconas came from the Islands of Ancona, near Italy." In 
the First Ancona History issued in book form (1911) I set right these 
mis-statements, and have been pleased to see that the circulars, catalogs, 
magazine articles, etc. since that time have been more rational. Other 
statements of equal authenticity made by the early writers was about 
the wonderful and fearful crosses made to produce Anconas, their Span- 
ish origin, etc., etc. 

The original name of the Ancona fowl was MARCHEGIANA, de- 
rived from The Marches province, their native Italian home. But this 
word was too burdensome for the English speaking people and therefore 
the word ANCONA was substituted, which is really as appropriate, as 
the Ancona fowl is the native fowl of the whole Ancona province, of 
which The Marches is but one of the geographical divisions. 






''^^a^{>X:E^^^^rs 




I PURITY OF ANCONAS | 



'HERE never yet was anything under the sun that everybody acknowl- 
edged was all right. Everything must endure the sneers of the 
skeptic, the license (?) of the critic, the errors of the ignorant, the vicious- 
ness of the jealous, — and Anconas are no exception. 

Some poultrymen, and even a few writers, (you may put them in 
whichever of the above class that suits your fancy) maintain that Anconas 
are a ''made breed." But these people do not agree as to how they were 
made. Now if Anconas are a manufactured breed, the result of crossing 
other breeds, they were probably produced some certain way. But the 
very fact of the methods employed being in dispute is good evidence to me 
that the argument is weak. Another reason why I say the claim that An- 
conas are a made-up breed is false, is that it cannot be substantiated. 
We have the Black Spanish, the Houdans, the Black Leghorns, the White 
Leghorns, the Minorcas, the Hamburgs, all of which varieties various peo- 
ple claim were used to produce the Ancona (in whatever way it most 
pleases the several writers to set forth,) and breeders today are certainly 
more advanced than they were generations ago. Now, go at it and breed 
a made-up Ancona! The fact that it cannot be done is some proof that it 
never has been done. 

Some Leghorn breeders see a menace to their breed in the growing pop- 
ularity of the Ancona, and therefore speak of them slightingly as Mottled 
Leghorns. They perhaps would not make such a blunder if they were 
aware of the fact that Anconas were pure bred a great many years before 
Leghorns were brought to light. 

Anconas began to come into the general knowledge of the poultry world 
at a time when Leghorns were very popular. A new variety of Leghorns 
would have been very much easier to introduce than a breed bearing a 
name little knowm and of no significance. "Mottled Leghorns" would 
have been taken up at once, and been as great a success as White Leg- 
horns, Brown Leghorns, Buff Leghorns and Black Leghorns. Then why, 
by any line of reasoning, should an Ancona, if it is a Leghorn, be given a 
name that would retard its popularitj^ and success? 

Again, a breeder who had the ability to create a new breed as stable and 
worthy as the Ancona has proven to be, would surely have the ability to 
bring the new creation to the knowledge of the public. Yet we find that 
Anconas were bred for scores and scores of years before any attempt was 
made to widely introduce them. 



Anconas have never been exploited, which cannot be said of any made- 
up breed. And why? For the very reason that new breeds are created on 
purpose to exploit, and unless they are exploited there is little reason to 
create them. But a breed that already IS will grow into the knowledge 
of the poultry craft of its own accord in time, and its position there must 
depend upon its intrinsic merit. 

And this is exactly the case of the Ancona. The name *'Ancona" 
signifies nothing in the matter of introducing and popularizing the breed; 
in fact the name was rather a hindrance. As I previously stated, the 
breed would have been so much more quickly and more easily introduced 
under a Leghorn name. But an Ancona is an Ancona, and nothing but 
an Ancona, and therefore there could be no other name applied. 

Ed. Weber, a university man, practical poultry breeder, and an 
authority on poultry matters, during one of his several European tours 
made a trip to Ancona, Italy, on purpose to study Ancona fowls; — their 
origin, history, condition, type, etc., He traversed the province of Ancona, 
and neighboring territory, on foot and personally looked up the archives 
in the Lyceum at Ancona city. Mr. Weber speaks Italian fluently, and 
was therefore able to get the facts first-hand. He wrote me that he could 
find no printed history about the origin of Ancona fowls; their early his- 
tory is lost in the mist of antiquity. His every source of information was 
to the effect that Anconas have been bred in that Italian province for sev- 
eral centuries. 

Mr. Weber's testimony is corroborated by the Hon. Chapman Cole- 
man, the American Consul at Rome, to whom I wrote in 1910, and an 
extract from his reply is printed in the opening chapter of this book. 

There is not the least doubt about Anconas being one of the oldest 
known breeds, descended from the original Jungle fowl, and all the evi- 
dence obtainable from whatever source goes to show that Anconas have 
been "monkied with" as little as any breed. Their characteristics are so 
pronounced that they breed very true, and the Ancona of today is the 
Ancona of centuries ago in breed, name, characteristics and type, improved 
only in uniformity of color and greater egg production. 



DESCRIPTION OF ANCONASf 



There are but two varieties of Anconas— Single Comb and Rose 
Comb, and as they are identical in every way except the comb, the 
description fits both. The Rose Comb variety should have combs similar 
to a Wyandotte. 

Anconas, or as they are frequently called Mottled Anconas, are black 
and white. The black predominates, and the feathers in every section 
are black. The greater part of the feathers are entirely black, but about 
one quarter of the feathers have a small tip of white at the end, which 
gives the bird a very attractive appearance. 

The white tips are a real white, and not a dirty white or gray. The 
small feathers of the leg, neck, breast, fluff, and other parts of the body 
that are white-tipped have the white tips small, — about double the size 
of a lead pencil end. The coarser feathers and those of the wings and 
tail that are white-tipped have larger white tips. 

There are occasional tail and wing feathers that have white for an 
inch or two up the quill, and all-white feathers are frequent in these sec- 
tions, but they are inconspicous and do not disqualify the birds for show. 
However these entirely white feathers are sought to be eliminated as much 
as possible in breeding, not to the extent of breeding out the white mot- 
tling from other sections and producing a bird that has too great a pre- 
ponderence of black. (See chapter on Ancona Type.) 

The face, wattles and comb are bright red. The ear lobes are white 
white or creamy. The beak is yellow, with dark shading. The legs are 
either clear yellow, or yellow mottled with black. The comb on the male 
is erect, while on the female it tips over to one side. 

The carriage of both male and female is alert and active, and they 
possess a style and symmetry that is quite their own, and it never fails 
to attract the eye of the poultry fancier. Anconas have few equals and 
no superiors in the poultry kind for beauty, which is very plainly mani- 
fest on the lawn and in the show room. 



^****^*jjt-Sfr#sjt-St***-*******^**'*-******************^*******^ 



ANCONA TYPE 



I 



VERY breed of fowls has its faddists who attempt to breed their birds 
■"with variations." Such breeders are a detriment to the poultry busi- 
ness, and a curse to the breed they take up. 

Many a breed has been set aside or shelved as undesirable for the 
reason that it was made a monstrosity by faddists. They alter plumage, 
change the shape, size and other characteristics natural to the breed, and 
as a consequence they greatly impair or utterly destroy the utility value 
of the breed, and in consequence it loses its popularity and becomes a 
has-been. 

But these faddists seem never to profit by the mistakes of others, and 
they sound the "death-knell" of their breeds by repeating the blunders 
made by their prototypes in respect to other breeds. 

When a breed has an established type, and characteristics bred natu- 
rally for years, has great utility value, is popular and on the crest of the 
boom, why in Heaven's name should anyone attempt to "monkey with 
fate" and put a crimp in the breed by introducing foreign elements that 
the breed cannot stand for, and reasonable breeders will not endure! 

So much for introduction. 

I realize that in this chapter I am walking on thin ice, and may leave 
dents that other Ancona people may think had better be left out, but I 
am speaking from many years of experience in breeding, selling and ex- 
hibiting Anconas, and from my best judgement formed from the largest, 
and greatest range of correspondence on Ancona matters ever enjoyed by 
any Ancona breeder. This experience is here recorded for what it may be 
worth, (a.) Anconas are not a meat breed, lay no claims to being beefers, 
and a heavyweight Ancona is not a true Ancona at all. The American 
Standard of Perfection says that the weight of Anconas shall be 4 lbs. for 
the hen and 5| lbs. for the cock. 

This is the best judgement of the men who have carefully weighed the 
matter pro and con. It has taken years to arrive at this conclusion but 
now that we have arrived that is all there is to it. In 191 1 a quite general 
attempt was made to Minorocaize Anconas, and the breed was at that 
time and in that manner threatened with the worst calamity that has be- 
fallen it since its introduction into America. But before the "beef fad" 
had gained enough cohorts to be of any considerable damage the mistake 
was corrected, and the weight of Anconas was made normal again. 



When the carcass of a fowl is increased by several pounds beyond the 
natural weight, it always is at the expense of other and more important 
characteristics. The frame is not enlarged and strengthened to correspond 
to the extra meat, and the birds break down. By increasing the size be- 
yond normal, nothing is added to the laying quality, but there is a very 
perceptible increase to the expense of feeding, and it requires more housing 
room for the same number of fowls. The increased weight retards activity, 
and the more logy fowl developes more slowly. The greatest claim for 
Anconas, that they produce eggs at the least cost per dozen of any breed, 
cannot be maintained by over-weight fowls. Any poultry man who wants 
birds heavier than Anconas, can easily have them in any cloor desired — 
Rocks, Reds, Wyandottes, Langshans, Minorcas, Brahmas, etc., and I 
would emphasize the fact that if you want to breed for beef don't breed 
Anconas. 

It is an undisputed truth that Race and Draft horses are not found 
in one breed; neither can there be found in one breed of cows the quali- 
ties for both Beef and Milk; no more do you find meat and egg production 
combined in one fowl. It never has been, and never will be. 

(b)Ancona color is mottled black and white. There is not a confus- 
ing multiplicity of hues. There are no Black Anconas, White Anconas, 
Red Anconas, Silver Anconas, Partridge Anconas, Golden Anconas, and so 
on Ad Infinitum, but, Glory Be! the one and only Ancona color is mottled. 
There is a peculiar beauty in contrast, and no contrast is so striking as 
black and white. There seemed to be a growing forgetfulness among An- 
cona breeders generally about the year 1910 that Anconas were mottled. 
Poultry Judges were largely to blame for this lapse by reason of their plac- 
ing awards on the darkest birds, almost to the exclusion of any honors for 
a well mottled Ancona in the show room. I have seen some first prize 
winners that had hardly a white-tipped feather on them. This was 
carried to such an extreme that several breeders began to advertise "Black- 
bird" Anconas and other terms to indicate that their Anconas were not 
the real thing. It was but another creation of the faddist, and had no 
excuse ever to be introduced. For three years this black craze appeared 
to have a deep-seated root, but then it began to "wear off" (as all crazy 
notions usually do,) and Ancona breeders awoke to the fact that their 
favorite had once more escaped the pernicious out-cropping of the faddist 
to produce a new creation to undo a good thing and make a mighty poor 
substitution. The English breeders underwent this same color experience 
a few years earlier than did the American breeders, but they did not carry 
it to such an extreme as was attempted in America. The leading English 
Ancona breeders sounded the warning in time and the return to a well 
mottled Ancona was straightway made. 

I trust that the American Ancona may ever be true to name, — a 
really mottled Ancona. 

13 



(c.) Other color points that I wish to touch upon are under-color, and 
legs. I believe that too much stress is laid on under-color. Some breeders 
would have Anconas disqualified if their under-color was not very dark. 
Now if under-color was an essential in producing any intrinsic value I 
would emphasize it. If under-color governed the production of a show- 
room plumage it might well be worth while. If under-color added one 
whit to the beauty of an Ancona I would say it should be considered. But 
the most beautiful specimen of an Ancona cock and hen may not have the 
desired dark under-color; and parent stock with medium light under-color 
produce as near perfect specimens as ever entered a show room, and it is 
as foolish to insist on very dark under-color for perfect plumage as it would 
be to claim that a person is not well dressed unless they have on under- 
clothes of a certain tint. The points on plumage are only to please the 
eye^ — there is no other value; then why so much stress on what the eye 
does not see? 

Now about the leg color. Let it be understood in the beginning that 
a yellow leg does not go with a black fowl. The breeder of too dark An- 
conas should have their birds with black or green legs. They may have 
back of legs and bottom of feet yellow, but should not have all yellow 
legs. Anconas have legs either pure yellow, or yellow mottled vvitii black; 
tlie latter are preferable. A green or willowy leg was often remarked when 
Anconas were being bred too black, and this sign if no other h^hould have 
been sufficient warning to halt in the matter of producing very dark 
Anconas. 

A parti-colored fowl to be a success in the fancy must have a Standard 
that is not too difficult to attain. Remember it is not the handful of ex- 
pert breeders that keeps the game going. If a color standard is so diflicult 
that the general run of breeders cannot get within show-room distance of 
it, it is good-bye to that breed for popular favor. Then again if you breed 
away from the natural tendency of Anconas for size or color, you encour- 
age the introduction of foreign blood, as the quickest and easiest way to 
distort an Ancona to the idea of the faddist is by cross- breeding with those 
fowls that are what Anconas are not, — and will create a mongrel that will 
answer the pattern set by the faddist. We should not hsve a Standard 
that encourages the introduction of foreign blood. It takes years of pains- 
taking and expense to overcome one season's work of false breeding. 
Ancona interests are best served by a liberal and broad plan, rather than 
restrictive and narrow ones. 

(d) And a word about tail carriage. An extremely low sweeping 
tail is not desirable, and is not characteristic of the true Ancona. 
Breeders who make an effort to have an Anconas tail drag in the mud 
like a Leghorn are making a bad mistake, and I wish to register a protest 
against the very low sweeping tail. It is unattractive, detracts from the 
style of the bird, and is anti- Ancona. Ed. Weber, one of the best An- 
cona authorities in the world says, '"Anconas with low sweeping tails are 
not true Ancona type," and several leading breeders in this country 
make the same contention. Our English bretheren make no pretense of 
breeding low-tail Anconas. Don't do it! 



14 



I ANCONA I 

I CHARACTERISTICS I 

'HILE it is well to know the Origin and History of a breed of fowls 

and good to have birds that are pleasing to the eye, yet none of these 
things are sufficient to recommend a breed to a poultryman's favor. 

If you might be interested in taking up Anconas you want to know 
what they are and what they will do, and this chapter treats on these 
subjects. 

(1.) Anconas are pre-eminently an egg breed, and this is their first and 
greatest Virtue. The profit in the poultry business is in eggs. If you 
wish to go into the meat business you don't want fowls, as it is more profit- 
able to produce meat on four-legged animals than it is on two-legged ones. 
Were it not for the money in eggs the poultry business would be a dead 
one. 

Anconas begin laying at an early age, — pullets often laying when but 
sixteen weeks old. And they lay persistently all winter and through the 
summer, except du^-ing the moult. And they will repeat the performance 
during the second and third years, and even four year old hens lay better 
than do yearlings of most other breeds. As a consequence it is not nec- 
essary to replace your flock with young stock every year or two. 

Don't believe that Anconas excel as layers just because I say so. It 
isn't safe to be guided by the unsupported opinion of any one. But con- 
sider why Anconas put themselves in the front rank of poultry dom without 
being exploited, and why the breed is conceeded by all poultry authorities 
to be an excellent egg breed, then read the scores of testimonials of ex- 
perienced practical poultry men and women (see chapter farther over in 
this book) who have spent years breeding Anconas alongside of other breeds. 
ALL of this testimony should have some weight, and is as good evidence as 
I can present. The only thing left for you to do is tomake a practical 
demonstration yourself, which after all is the final test. Get a pen of An- 
conas and subject them to the test, compare them to any other breed you 
may, keep an accurate account of what they eat and what they return, and 
I am confident you will confirm all the good things said about Anconas in 
this book. 

(2.) Ancona fowls are small eaters. Five AncQjlas will thrive on the 
amount of food necessary to sustain three fowls of the heavy American, 
Asiatic, or English breeds. Figure out what this means in profits, on a 
flock of fowls in these times of high priced feed! 

Anconas being such prolific layers and small eaters they produce eggs 
at the least cost per dozen of any known breed. 

IS 



(3.) Anconas lay large eggs having white shells. The size of the 
eggs is worth considering, and the color of the shell is very significant 
as the best markets pay a premium of several cents a dozen for white 
eggs. 

(4.) Anconas are a hardy breed. This is true of both little chicks 
and mature fows. They have been bred in this country long enough to 
be thoroughly acclimated. They stand the cold winters of the Dakotas 
and Canada. They are not succeptible to disease, and their extreme 
hardiness under all conditions is one of their strong recommendations. 
Hardiness has been a feature of the breed for centuries, as the country of 
their origin has as great a diversity of climate as has America. 

(5.) Anconas mature very early. Their precociousness in this direc- 
tion is always remarked on by breeders who are not familiar with them. 

As stated earlier in this chapter pullets often begin laying when but 
sixteen weeks old, and it is not infrequent that they lay earlier. At 
twenty weeks they are in full lay, not just an occasional egg but from 
five to seven every week. 

The cockerels are quick to develope to the light broiler stage,and with 
their yellow legs and skin, plump bodies, and meat of fine texture and 
exceptional flavor they are a dainty morsel and command a top price in 
market. 

(6.) Anconas are non-setters. If you wish hens for hatching eggs I 
advise you to keep a few heavier hens for broodies, as you cannot depend 
on Ancona hens for hatching. There is no breed that never has its "set- 
ters" and Anconas are no exception. During the hot weather there will 
be a few "clucks," but they are easily broken up and soon commence lay- 
ing again. I have had Ancona hens hatch a setting of eggs and care for the 
brood very satisfactorily, but it is unusual and so few Ancona hens ever 
show broodiness that you cannot depend on them for hatching. 

(7.) Anconas are adapted to either farm free range, or village close 
confinement. On the farm they are great foragers, and pick up a goodly 
amount of their living. Their color harmonizes with their surroundings, 
and they are much less liable to be caught by hawks than are white or red 
fowls. 

The back-lot poultry keeper will find Anconas tame, contented and 
more of them may be kept in a limited area because of their medium size 
and extreme hardiness. 

(8.) Anconas are handsome birds, from the little fluffy yellow-and- 
black baby chicks to the stately cock and hen of pretty mottling and beau- 
tiful sheen. In their development the chicks never undergo the half-clad 
gauky stage common to most young fowls, but are slick and pretty every 
day of their lives. It is more pleasure to care for and be interested in 
fowls that are so pleasing to look at. Anconas are certainly an ornament 
to any premises, and their beauty never fails to attract attention. 

i6 



(9.) Anconas have been in great demand for years, and although An- 
cona breeders continue to increase their capacity, yet there never has been 
a season when the supply has equaled the demand. This means that there 
is an unlimited market for breeding stock and eggs for hatching, and at 
very good prices. There is no reason to believe but what these conditions 
will continue to prevail for many years. 

If you are alive to your best interests you should be interested 
in a breed that is "coming" instead of "going;" an "iser" and not a 
"waser;" a " "going-to-be" rather than a "has-been." The several points 
of superiority possessed by Anconas, spoken of in this chapter, should 
cause you to ask the question if there is any other breed of fowls that posess 
so many points of excellence, and I can frankly answer, there is none! 

It is these things that make Anconas so popular, and these same 
characteristics will make for their continued leadership among the fowls 
for profit. 

(10.) Ancona breeders are well organized, and there is a good fellow- 
ship among them that is more manifest than among most other breeders. 
They are giving concerted action in upbuilding Ancona interests, and this 
co-operation is very effective. This means that there are more prizes of- 
fered on Anconas at the shows, greater publicity is given the breed, with 
all the attendant advantages, and the demand for Ancona products is con- 
tinually being extended. 

It is not enough that one "Knows a good thing when he sees it," but 
he should "Seize a good thing when he knows it." Moral: Get Anconas. 

Other breeds will "lay off," while Anconas "will lay often." The 
Ancona is the hen that lays, but doesn't get lazy. 




17 






ANCONA MATING 



"he general rules of properly mating any and all fowls apply to all breeds 
alike, and as this book does not make any pretense of being a text book 
on the science of poultry keeping, I will simply touch on a few points par- 
ticularly applicable to Anconas. 

I believe that many breeders put too much faith in the efficacy of some 
strong section of a fowl being able to supply the deficiency of that same 
section in the mate. This is true to some extent, but the weak section is 
corrected rather than built up. It is best to eliminate from the breeding 
pen those birds that are considerably lacking in any way, and not depend 
on breeding out the weak points, but avoid them. 

As dark plumage on fowls always has a tendency to become lighter 
after the moult, it is best to select for the breeding pens those hens that 
retain their color. I strongly advise always using hens instead of pullets 
in breeding, as it will build up the size of the birds, and the size of tlie eggs. 

It is not mse to buy stock and eggs from various and several breeders, 
as it quite likely will result in a hetrogenous lot of stock that will take 
some time to breed to uniformity. There are certain characteristics more 
pronounced than others in each breeder's flock, and unless you know just 
what you are doing you are very apt to make some undesirable combina- 
tions by such indiscriminate breeding. If you want to buy stock or eggs 
select some reliable and well known breeder and get what you want from 
one source. 

Do not use hens with excessively large combs. Moderate size are 
best, and an occasional hen with an erect comb will produce excellent 
cockerels. 

To correct white in the face use a male bird witn some red in his ear 
lobes. 

Purple will sometimes crop out in breeding any black-feathered fowl. 
It may be corrected by breeding females that lack the bright sheen in 
their plumage, but are rather a fiat black or dull color. 

The attempt to produce a very dark Ancona has resulted in the black 
color pigment showing in the legs. This is ever so, and to avoid dark legs 
you must avoid the very dark birds. Dark legs go with a dark bird. 



i8 



I ANCONAS 'N ENGLAND I 

I Y first recollections of Anconas as we now know them, goes back a 

good many years. But as a recognii-ed breed the last twenty-five 
years practically covers their whole history. At that time ago, a few fan- 
ciers were beginning to find out their sterling qualities, extraordinary lay- 
ers, small eaters and prettier than any, with the exception perhaps of 
Spangled Hamburgs. 

Picture to yourself a rather small, delicately shaped bird, about 
equally mottled with black and white, with a large well-spread tail, and 
very pale yellow legs, a rather long head surmounted by a comb of medium 
size very deeply cut, and a general carriage that a Peacock might envy. 
These birds gradually worked their way into the hearts of fanciers, who 
were also lovers of beauty, until the few classes which were then provided 
for them began to be well filled. 

But Englishmen are never satisfied for long,and a darker, squarer bird 
began to find favor at shows. The purple sheen which up to this time 
was general, was replaced by beetle green; the feathers instead of being 
simply mottled, were black just tipped at the end with white; the legs in- 
stead of pale yellow were now mottled with black. The general result 
was, mere prettiness gave way to a really handsome bird. 

A good many people said the Minorca had been largely used to get 
this result, but no real proof has ever been advanced to this effect. I lived 
within three miles of Mr. Cobb, the man to whom the change was chiefly 
due, and I frequently saw his stock, although not personally accquainted 
with him, and in consequence never saw what he did in private premises. 
I think I should have noticed if Minorcas had been run with Anconas, 
especially as I was always interested in the latter. 

However this may be, the fact remains that our Standard was built 
on these lines. A great outcry was made by some of those who kept the 
breed for laying only, more stout indeed than by those who bred for ex- 
hibition as well as utility qualities; most of the latter were quick to recog- 
nize the improved bird would be of more value than the older type. 

But looking back I am not at all certain if type had not been to some 
extent sacrificed in getting size and color in the new bird; still, there was 
the standard, and fanciers soon got their birds somewhere near right, and 
so far as my own stock was concerned at no apparent loss as regards lay- 
ing qualities. The squareness noticable in some strains when the alter- 
ation took place, has now been entirely eliminated and we now have the 
beautifully rouaded body and the grand carriage of the older birds, to- 
gether with the small white V-shaped tip at the end of each feather. 

19 



I think American fanciers are going too far in wanting so dark a bird 
as those obtained by having only one feather in five tipped. Also I think 
if we could prevail upon our leading fanciers to club together and send a 
team of real tip-toppers in charge of a man who thoroughly understood 
Anconas to one or more of your leading shows, American and Canadian 
fanciers would be willing to meet us half way at least in attempting an 
International Standard for one of the handsomest and most useful fowls 
living. 

I may say in conclusion how pleased I was to find what splendid pro- 
gress Anconas were making across the pond; may they ever continue so 
to do, and may their champion little journal, The Ancona World, increase 
and multiply a hundredfold. 

Yours faithfully, 

THOMAS LAYBERRY. 

Late Hon. Secretary; Club Judge; Club Show Judge; and only life 
member of the British Ancona Club. 




20 



The Jolloming appreciation of Anconas was written in 1913 by William 
E. Barber, England's well-known Ancona breeder and judge. 

During the past twelve months I am pleased to be able to record a 
quite decided advance in the popularity of the breed. For many years I 
have been surprised that the sterling qualities of the Ancona have not been 
recognized as they merited, but this is being rapidly changed. They are 
a breed that do not want booming; they simply want knowing to be ap- 
preciated. As an egg producer I find them second to none, and in the 
coldest winter months, if hatched at right time, will lay almost as regularly 
as in the summer. Like any other breed, light or heavy, if in confined 
quarters they must be given work, for they delight in scratching and seek- 
ing for their food. 

They have the advantage over most breeds in maturing quickly, pul- 
lets often laying at the age of 18 to 20 weeks' old. This is a most decided 
advantage, as chicks may be hatched as late as the month of May and 
still be in full lay in November, to continue right through the winter. 
The eggs of pullets from the start are sizeable, while those laid by yearling 
hens rival the Minorca or Andalusian. This is not all; half a dozen active 
Anconas may be kept in full lay on a quantity of corn that would feed 
only three or four Orpingtons or other heavy breed, whilst on a free range 
they are such excellent foragers that during the summer months at least, a 
very small morning and evening meal will keep them fit and laying. They 
are, therefore, in my opinion the ideal egg producer for the farmer or the 
backyard fancier. Added to this, any fancier will admit they are one of 
the prettiest breeds we have. Of the Rose Comb Ancona I can speak 
even more highly as an egg producer. They are equally as good summer 
or winter; even in the most severe weather nothing seems to check them. 
Four of my winning Rose Comb pullets laid 904 eggs in their pullet year of 
1912. I think this fully answers the question, can Utility and Fancy be 
combined? Most emphatically yes, as applied to the Ancona, perhaps 
more so than any other breed. Our standard contains no extravagant 
points to breed to, and is framed so that our ideal bird is, and looks a 
layer. Another decided advantage with our breed is that it requires only 
one pen to produce exhibition specimens of both sexes. 

There is not the slightest doubt that the fall from popularity of many 
of our most useful breeds is the evil of the double mating system, that is 
to say, two pens are required to breed cockerels and pullets for exhibition. 
From the cock breeding pens the pullets often look wasters, and vice-versa. 
Our breed therefore, stands at a distinct advantage again in this respect. 

Some fanciers have experimented with the cock-breeding pen, making 
progress up to a certain point, I will admit, but the pullets have, on the 
other hand, showed a decided falling off in quality. The cockerels have 
eventually got too dark and short of tipping. It is much to be deprecated 
and for my part I think it will be much to the advantage to both our 
breed and Club to stick to the single mating system. We are progressing 
admirably. Our birds are yearly getting nearer to the standard we have 
set up. We have got far from the bird that was evenly splashed all over 
black and white, and are now producing a bird sound in under color, and 
are also getting nearer to the V-shaped tipping. The ideal bird has not 
yet arrived, but we have made substantial progress since the standard 
was formulated. Finally let me say, to any Fancier who wishes to com- 
bine Fancy and Utility — "Try Anconas." 



I ANCONAS IN CONTEST | 



^ 



The statement from the Missouri Egg Laying Contest is such an un- 
paralled boost for Anconas that some of my readers may not think it 
is rehable. I am therefore making this brief explanation: 

The State of Missouri is one of the greatest poultry states in America. 
It's annual egg laying contests at the Experiment Station, Mountain Grove, 
Mo. are international in their scope, and are considered the most thorough 
and comprehensive of anything of the kind ever held anywhere. The re- 
liabihty of these tests are unquestioned and the records are most carefully 
and accurately kept in the minutest detail. 

These contests have for years been in charge of T. E. Quisenberry, 
Director of the Missouri State Poultry Experiment Station, Superinten- 
dent and Secretary for ten years of the Missouri State Poultry Show, 
Superintendent of Poultry at Panama-Pacific International Exposition at 
San Francisco, and one of the foremost American poultry judges, authors 
and practical poultrymen. 

The extracts printed below, from the January 1915, Report of this 
contest, are for the year 1914, in which contest about twenty Standard 
breeds of poultry were represented, and over one thousand hens partici- 
pated. Bear in mind that this report is actual average for one year, and 
not particular preformances of certain pens or birds at certain times. 
In the light of this information these figures are astonishing. 

I have had these figures verified by the Missouri Experiment Station 
so they are absolutely correct : 

^^100 pounds of feed produced 300 eggs when fed to Anconas; 
268 eggs when fed to Leghorns; 251 eggs from Wyandottes; 230 eggs from 
Orpingtons; 225 eggs from Campines; 203 eggs from Minorcas; 201 eggs from 
Rhode Island Reds; 188 eggs from Plymouth Rocks; 179 eggs from Langshans. 

Furthermore, when all the eggs were iveighed it showed that the Anconas 
laid the largest eggs of all the breeds tested. 

And the Anconas laid the largest per cent, of eggs during December, 
January, February, March, April and May, when prices are the highest both 
for market and hatching. 

Here we have the very essence of profitable poultry keeping, most 
weight of eggs per 100 pounds of feed; largest number of eggs per 100 
pounds of feed; largest per cent, of eggs during the winter months. 
This corroborates the statement made for years by Ancona breeders, that 
the Ancona fowls produce eggs at the least cost per dozen of any known 
breed. 



I DONT MINORCAIZE | 

I ANCONAS I 

* t 

B N REGARD to the heavy, logy, lumbering Ancona that so much 
resembles the Minorca, why do the Minorca fanciers wish to corrupt 
their breed with foreign blood? Is not the Minorca a good fowl? If you 
don't like her why not discard her entirely and get something better? 

Ancona breeders don't want Mottled Minorcas any more than they 
want Speckled Wyandottes. Anconas fill requirements that other fowls 
do not, and if you want something different from true Anconas, get it 
without distortion. There are scores of different types, names and colors 
of fowl already bred to a high point of perfection. Whatever you want 
you can have, and there is no excuse for producing a mongrel to substi- 
tute for the real thing. Breeders should not forget that an Ancona 
crossed with other blood to produce size does give you Anconas at all, 
but nothing more nor less than a mongrel. 

Anconas are not bred for plumage. Don't think that because you 
have a bird that is mottled that necessarily it is an Ancona. Ancona 
means more than feathers or size. It seems hard for some people to learn 
that Anconas have type. 

Suppose a Jersey cow was produced as large as a Holstein, with the 
Holstein capacity for food, and having the color and most of the other 
characteristics of the Jersey. It would no longer be a Jersey, and Jersey 
breeders would have no use for such scrubs. The Jersey has es- 
tabUshed qualifications that Jersey breeders greatly prize, and if the 
Jersey were different than she is, Jersey breeders would not want her. 
Just so, Ancona fowls embody inherent characteristics that are valuable 
and satisfactory to Ancona breeders. If you want something different 
than Ancona type, get it, but don't "fake it." 

Anconas have made, and are making a quite phenomenal growth in 
numbers and popularity in poultry circles. This is because of what the 
Ancona IS and not because of what she IS NOT. If you attempt to 
make a new type for them you ignore the cause of their present eminence, 
and by attempting to Minorcaize them you have nothing to gain, and 
everything to lose. Don't do it. 



23 



I WHY THE SPECIALTY CLUB 

I t 

IN COMPARISON to the number of breeders, the number of Club mem- 
" bers in any speciality club is small. 

This ought not so to be, but nevertheless it is a fact. 

We wonder sometimes if it is because breeders are as a class closefisted, 
selfish, careless, or do they not realize the fact that a specialty club is an 
absolutely necessary thing for the success of any breed of fowls? 

There is such a great variety of fowls that if any breed is not given 
special publicity, and boosted to some extent, it will fall behind instead 
of progressing. This is true of any breed, new or old. And it is univer- 
sally admitted that "What is everybody's business is nobody's business," 
so unless organized effort is made to boost, who is going to do it? 

Clubs are not organized nor kept up for the purpose of making money. 
Most of the officers in all the clubs serve without recompense, and the 
whole income of the club is expended in furthering the best interests of the 
breed, by giving ribbons, cups, cash and other specials at the shows and 
thus encouraging exhibition; advertising the breed, circulating thousands 
of booklets and circulars, improving the Standard, providing illustrations, 
etc., etc. Breeders do not do these things singly, and they are only done 
by co-operation. 

The demand for eggs for hatching and stock for breeding and exhi- 
biting is created solely by club activity, and breeders owe much to the 
club that represents their breed, and it is only reasonable that they show 
their appreciation by joining and keeping up their membership. It is the 
least they can do. 

Most clubs have a membership fee of only SI. 00 per year, and it 
really is remarkable the good work they accomplish with such a limited 
amount of funds. It were better that breeders gave $2.00 each, as the 
money they pay into the club is the best investment they make during 
the whole year. 

Whatever breed of fowls you keep, by all means support the club 
that is boosting that breed, and don't let the other fellow do the work and 
spend the money while you sit idly by and share in the reward without 
doing a blessed thing to help. It's not fair. 



24 



I UNITED ANCONA CLUB I 



TTHE FIRST Ancona club in the United States was organized March 1, 
■ 1905, and was called the "American Ancona Club." It was a small 
affair as there were few Ancona breeders in America at that time. This 
club was the opening wedge that started Anconas on the road to promi- 
nence in America, and much credit is due those pioneers who even then 
realized the necessity for co-operation if success would be theirs in breed- 
ing Anconas for profit. 

Later this club was changed to the "Ancona Club of America," and 
so continued until January 1915, when it was officially consolidated with 
"The Ancona Club" (an Ancona organization created in 1912.) The 
consoUdated organization chose the name "United Ancona Club," and it 
is a most fitting term as the Ancona fraternity is united in a large and 
strong association that is doing a great work in advancmg Ancona inter- 
ests. Special prizes are given Ancona breeders on winnings at any poul- 
try show, which encourages exhibition. Ancona boosting literature is 
published and v, idely distributed, which creates new Ancona breeders and 
increases the demand for stock and eggs. Advertisements are also carried 
in several leading poultry magazines, extolling the merits of Ancona fowls. 

The fist of members is published, special concessions are secured from 
representative poultry shows, and an annual Year Book on Anconas sent 
out. Every Club member receives each month the "Ancona World" 
magazine, which is the official organ of the Club. 

And all of this is done for the small membership fee of $1 per year! 
Every Ancona breeder in America should have their name listed in the 
Year Book of the United Ancona Club. It is worth while. 

MEMBERSHIP IN THE 

UNITED ANCONA CLUB 

BRINGS WITH IT 

1. Better standing as an Ancona breeder. 

2. A guarantee to your customers of a square deal. 

3. Additional orders for stock and eggs. 

4. Handsome Club ribbons on 1st prizes won on Anconas. 

5. A chance at valuable special prizes, to Club members only. 

6. Participation in Club special cash prizes. 

7. A free copy of the Year Book. (Price 25 cents.) 

8. The Ancona World magazine free. (Price 50 cents per year.) 

9. Helping to more widely advertise the merits of the breed. 
10. The good fellowship of friendly co-operation. 

All of this for One Dollar! Remit to 
UNITED ANCONA CLUB, FRANKLINVILLE, NEW YORK. 

2S 



I ANCONA EXPERIENCE 

I spent my first nineteen years on the farm, just as uneventfully as the or- 
dinary farm lad finds it. One of my farm chores was caring for the 
hens, and they were a typical farm flock of about 50 mongrels of various 
sizes, colors and ages, representing half a dozen different breeds cross-bred 
to the queen's (dis-) taste. 

When I quit the farm and went to town to live I cut out the farm 
duties; no horse, no cow, no hens. After a dozen years of office life, and 
I had married and had a home of my own, I became interested in poultry 
in a small way. My wife's cousin sent me, as a present, a sitting of An- 
cona eggs — a breed of fowls quite rare at that time. I borrowed a sitting 
hen from a neighbor, and the result was 9 fine chicks from 13 eggs. For 
two years I used a neighbors hen-house addition, as I had no housing room 
of my own, and my little flock of 20 fowls furnished us a remarkable num- 
ber of fresh eggs and several dozen broilers. 

I then began to study the poultry business, especially my own breed, 
built a roomy henhouse, advertised pure-bred stock for breeding and eggs 
for hatching, named my poultry plant, used good printed stationery and 
in two years time was shipping Ancona stock and eggs all over the United 
States and Canada, and making from $400 to $600 per year profit from 
my flock of 125 fowls. This was only a side line and did not interfere with 
my office position 

I had a very large garden, from which the expenses and income nearly 
balanced. The most of it I divided into hen parks, set out fruit trees, and 
always keep my fowls confined to these parks. In winter my hens are 
never let out, but they have cement floor, open-front scratch sheds. 

I buy everything my hens eat, except a few vegetables from the gar- 
den and clippings from a large lawn. 

I have found that the greatest profit is in the "fancy," and that there 
are hundreds of breeders in all parts of the country who are willing to pay 
from $5 to $25 for a high-class pure-bred exhibition bird. 

My experience and observation have proved to my satisfaction the 
following : 

1. It pays to speacialize on one breed, and stick to it. 

2. Poultry keeping pays big, if conducted along business lines. 

3. Advertising is necessary to the success of the poultry business. 

4. No big money can be made from fowls outside of the fancy. 

5. Poultry keeping is easy and pleasant, but demands attention to 



details. 



26 



6. Expensive housing is not necessary. 

7. Fowls do as well in confinement as on free range. 

8. There is no small investment that pays as big returns in money, 
and MO equal amount of work that returns as mueh pleasant recreation 
and table delicacies as does poultry keeping. 

9. If farmers gave their fowls the care and thought that they do their 
other stock, they too, would make good money on them, as do their vil- 
lage neighbors. 

10. The surest way to success ia the poultry business is to begin right, 
in a small way and keep growing. 

11. No exceptional talent nor special training is necessary to succeed 
in poultry keeping. 

12. It is a waste of time and money to keep any but pure-breds. 
—From "The Practical Farmer" Feb. 15, 1915, 




2J 



I THE FANCY POULTRY BUSINESS | 

I <^ 

TT he difference between a Breeder and a Fancier is largely one of Dollars 
■ and Cents. 

A true Fancier must be a good Breeder, and a successful Breeder 
surely is a Fancier. 

A Breeder makes some money with poultry, but the Big Money in 
poultry is made only in the Fancy. 

People discover this,and jump into Fancy poultry, and therein they 

fail. 

Fancy poultry is not a job to be jumped into. The shores of poultry- 
dom are strewn with wrecks of those who jumped into the Fancy poultry 
business. And these wrecks are almost all due to the fact that the breed- 
ers endeavored to enter the Fancy wrong-end-to ; that is, they made much 
noise in the beginning, and ended in a whisper. Their experience in the 
Fancy was Big end first, which is contrary to all rules of business success. 

And yet success is so simple, so easy, and so sure that any person, — 
clerk, school child, farmer, mechanic, laborer, professional or business man 
or woman, need not hesitate to undertake it, if they have a Hking for it. 

The chicken business is not unlike other business. If you have no 
liking for it you should not attempt it. It offers interesting and healthful 
diversion, real pleasure and much profit to those who are interested in 
fowls, and like them. 

Do not think that it is necessary to own a farm, or have an expensive 
equipment to enter the poultry business, or conduct a Fancy poultry 
business successfully. 

I know of a family who started with less than a dozen baby chicks, 
and within a very few years, from this very modest beginning, from the 
profits of their flock they built a fine hennery one year; the following year 
they bought two nice fur-lined coats and a foxy diamond ring for their 
master and mistress; the next year a player piano. Would you like to 
have a few hens do this for you? As I said in the beginning of this ar- 
ticle it is simple, easy, and sure. 

You will notice I said this little flock "in a few years" did so and so. 
The person who is unwilling to wait these few years had better invest his 
money in mining stock. You can't start in Fancy poultry in one year and 
make money, so don't attempt it or expect it. And I might as well have 
said two years as one. 

The first year or two you are in the Fancy poultry business few peo- 
ple will know it, unless you spend money out of all proportion to your 
business, in advertising. And the object of this article is to show how 

28 



to make money, and not how to waste it. And as you can't be much of 
a figure the first two years anyway, you might just as well (yes much bet- 
ter) go easy, and learn things the least expensive way. Learn what? 
Well here are a few things experience can teach you without much expense 
if you "make haste slowly:" What agricultural and poultry magazines 
are most profitable for your breed to be advertised in. What prices are 
most profitable for you to ask for stock and eggs. What shows and clubs 
are best for y©u to work with. What line of printing and advertising is 
best to employ. What shipping boxes and coops give best results. And 
a lot of other details, besides the mastery of the peculiarities distinctive 
of your chosen breed. 

And there's a vital point, — The breed! Every breeder will tell you 
to start with his breed; but don't let the other fellow decide for you. 
There are certain things to consider as generalities before you consider 
breed, and I state them first as being most important. Those breeds are 
most popular and consequently in greatest demand, and ever will be, that 
produce the most eggs. Other things to corsider are color of eggs, hardi- 
ness of both the fowls and little chicks, quick development, adaptability 
to your method of culture, cost of feeding, etc., etc. Some writers advise 
taking up the breed that you most admire, but that is a very weak de- 
cision, for you are not breeding fowls just to satisfy your own admiration 
(or if you are, you don't need any help from us) but you want your flock 
to pay, and these things must be taken into account. The advantage of 
a popular breed is that it is being brought into prominence, and therefore 
a great demand is created; also the country is not so full of breeders who 
can supply the same thing, and consequently the competition is not so 
keen as in the older breeds that have been established for generations. 

When you have investigated the merits of the several breeds, decide 
on one breed, and one only. And then get the best parent stock that 
you can. Don't pick up a few birds from a miscellaneous lot of breeders, 
but buy from a reliable and well established breeder, and be willing to 
pay a good price. If a pen costs more than you want to invest, then buy 
a trio. Or if you prefer, buy a sitting of eggs. It don't make so much 
difference how or when you start, if you only start right. 

Study your breed, both in your own yard, in some other breeders' 
yards, in the show room and in the poultry books and magazines. Learn 
how to mate, what points to breed for and what things to avoid. Become 
expert in your chosen breed. Join the Specialty Club that is exploiting 
your breed; it is doing an invaluable service to the cause, and merits your 
hearty co-operation and loyal support. 

Exhibit at your home poultry shows and state fairs. Also at two or 
three large poultry shows and state fairs, each year. 

29 



As soon as you can take care of any orders for stock or eggs, begin 
to advertise. And never forget that without advertising you cannot 
succeed. 

And never write to an interested person on plain stationery. Use 
nicely printed letter heads, envelopes, cards and circulars. Use a picture 
of the fowls you breed. And when you ship eggs or fowls use your own 
printed tags or labels. The price of one fowl or one sitting of eggs will 
outfit you with nice printing to start with, and as your business grows 
you can elaborate to your hearts content along this line. But don't think 
you can get along without printed stationery. It can't be done. Never 
sell a cull bird or egg. Use all such for home consumption or market. 
Don't ship anything you would not be willing to have shipped to you at 
the same price. Cull your own breeding pens as closely as you do the 
birds you sell; your future success depends on your maintaining high-class 
birds in your own flock. 

Be not over-anxious to make big money too quickly. You must bide 
your time. Let your flock increase each year in both quantity and quality. 
As your flock increases in size, increase the size and number of your ad- 
vertisements. After the first three years you will be astounded at the 
increase in your business and profits. The Fancy poultry business you 
do one year helps to do more business the next; one satisfied customer 
brings another; an advertisement a year or two old sometimes create busi- 
ness; each year added to your breeding a certain breed adds to your sta- 
bility and reputation as a breeder, with its consequent advantage in get- 
ting more orders and better prices. 

There is no secret to success in the Fancy Poultry business. It is 
open to everybody; needs but a few dollars capital to begin, and just 
naturally and inevitably grows into as large and profitable a business as 
you choose to allow it. 



30 



ILLUSTRATE YOUR BREED I 

TT. HERE is no question about the value of showing your birds by pict- 
* ure, as well as by word description. People can so much easier, quicker, 
better, and ^altogether more satisfactorily appreciate what your birds are 
if they can see them as the camera presents them. 

"As the camera presents them" would be an excellent way for breeders 
to show their birds to intending purchasers of stock or eggs for breeding 
or exhibition. But of course this process is too slow, laborious and ex- 
pensive, and therefore engravings are made from the photographs; and 
these engravings are printed from in circulars, booklets, catalogs, etc., 
the same as type, and the picture is thus multiplied many times at small 
cost. 

And right here is where a great deal of mischief is done, either in the 
hands of the artist or engraver. Breeders have so universally shown a 
weakness for having their birds show up as good as the other fellows' that 
they have the photograph retouched to such an extent that the represent- 
ation is distorted beyond recognition. 

I would not unqualifiedly condemn the retouching of photographs, 
because there are little things in photographing fowls that are hard to get 
right, and do the subject justice. A broken or ruffled feather, a side light 
that makes things appear unnatural, a cramped position that is not Hfe- 
like, — such minor defects may be corrected, as they are a fault of the 
process of securing the picture rather than in the bird. 

But when points are removed from the comb, the tail is lowered ten 
to twenty degrees, the mottling or other markings are made to suit the 
artists eye and not at all to resemble the specimen photographed, these 
things are wrong. It is not justified simply because "Everybody's doing it." 

I believe the time has arrived when the business of idealizing the 
photographs of fowls should be discontinued, and the true fancier should 
be willing to picture his birds as they really are. 

Much is said and written against "faking" in the show room, but that 
is of less consequence I believe than is the custom of faking in picturing 
birds. The custom is so generally practiced that it is rare to see an actual 
true-to-life engraving, even in these times of such a profusion of poultry 
pictures in all magazines. 

By ideaUzing the photographs of your birds you are certain to dis- 
appoint your customers, because of course the product from your flock 
that they bought from you will not come up to the pictures put out to 
represent your birds. 

I believe it is better business ethics to show your birds in pictures 
true-to-life and as they really are, rather than true to fancy, and as you 
wish they were. 

3J 



i LINE BREEDING 

HE BEST illustration and explanation of what Line Breeding is 
that has come to my notice is the chart prepared by I. K, Felch, a 
very capable poultryman of Natick, Mass. Mr. Felch is now a veteran 
poultry breeder eighty years of age, and has been an acknowledged au- 
thority for over half a century, a judge, fancier, writer and leader in the 
poultry arena, and looked up to by his co-workers in the field for better 
Standard poultry. My request for permission to use his chart in this 
book brought forth a cordial and friendly letter from him, together with a 
copy of the chart, a printed explanation, and an electrotype of the line 
drawing. I had a new drawing prepared and a new plate made, and the 
explanation is reproduced ad-liter atim. I believe this chapter will be ap- 
preciated by readers of this book. 

"Each dotted line represents the female as having been selected from 
the upper group, while the solid line shows the male as having been taken 
from the indicated upper group. Each circle represents the progeny. 

To wit: female No. 1 mated 



with male No. 2 having pro- 
duced group No. 3 which is ^ 
the blood of sire and dam. 

Females from group No. 
3 mated back to his own sire. 
No. 2, having produced group 
No. 5, which is f of the blood 
of the sire. No. 2, and \ the 
blood of the dam. No. 1. 

A male from group No. 3, 
mated back to his own dam, 
No. 1, produces group No. 4, 
which is I of the blood of the 
dam No. 1, and \ the blood of 
the sire No. 2. 

Again we select a cockerel 
from group No. 5 and a pullet 
from group 4, or vice versa, 
which will produce group 7, 
which is mathematically half 
the blood of each of the origi- 
This is the second step toward producing a 




nal pair, No. 1 and No. 2. 
new strain. 



32 



Females from No. 5 mated back to the original male, No. 2, produce 
group 8, that are | the blood of No. 2, and a cockerel from No. 4, mated 
back to the original dam, No. 1, produces group No. 6, that is | the blood 
of the original dam, and only | the blood of the original sire. 

Again we select a male from No. 8 and females from No. 6 and a third 
time produce chicks (in group No. 11) that are half the blood of the origi- 
nal pair. This is the third step and the 9th mating in securing complete 
breeding of our new strain. In all of this we have not broken the line of 
sires, for everyone has come from a group in which the preponderance of 
blood was that of the original sire, Nos. 8, 13 and 18 are virtually the 
blood No. 2. 

We have reached a point where we would establish a male line whose 
blood is virtually that of our original dam, and we now select from No. 6 
a male which we mate with a female from No. 4 and produce group 9, 
which is thirteen-sixteenths the blood of the original dam No. 1, and three- 
sixteenths the blood of the original sire. 

Again we select a male from No. 9 and a female of the new strain. No. 
11, and produce group 14, which becomes || of the blood of the original 
dam, thus preserving her strain of blood. 

A male from No. 13, which is thirteen-sixteenths the blood of the 
original sire No. 2, mated to females from No. 10, which are five-sixteenths 
the blood of the original sire. No. 2, gives us group 17, which is nine-six- 
teenths the blood of said sire. 

While in No. 16 we have the new strain and in No. 18 the strain of 
our original sire, No. 2, we have three distinct strains, and by and with 
this systematic use we can go on breeding for all time to come. Remem- 
ber that each dotted line is a female selection and each solid line the 
male selection. 



33 



I OLLAPODRIDA | 

ANCONA fowls are exceedingly tame, though never a back door nuis- 
ance like many birds of the larger breeds. 

The characteristics of Anconas are so well established that they breed 
exceptionally true. 

The first record we have of Rose Comb Anconas is in 1901, by a Mr. 
Chance in England. The following year they were exhibited at the Dairy 
Show, England's great poultry exhibition. 

Anconas are not susceptible to disease. This is an important con- 
sideration in these days of intensive poultry culture. 

The profitableness of Anconas is because of their dual advantage of 
large egg-production and small feed-consumption. 

Anconas respond remarkably quick to extra care and forcing for siae, 
early moulting and eggs, therefore it is to the decided advantage of the 
breeder to give them a variety of food, and exercise great care in giving 
them clean, dry and airy quarters, an abundance of clean fresh water, and 
avoid crowding and excitement. 

Never has any breed of fowls in America had such enthusiastic breed- 
ers as has the Anconas. TLis alone is a good recommendation as Ameri- 
can breeders do not enthuse over a breed of mediocrity. 

No Breed has greater permanency of type than the Ancona. There 
is no reversion, and "sports" are very infrequent. 

The moulting season is not one of stagnation with Anconas, as with 
most fowls. They do not entirely stop laying at this time of high-priced 
eggs, nor do they shed their feathers nearly all at once, presenting a very 
ragged and unsightly appearance. The Ancona hen moults very gradu- 
ally, and often her change of plumage is hardly noticeable except for the 
freshness of the new feathers. 

Several decided disadvantages the Anconas had to overcome in their 
climb to prominence. One was that they were not pictured in natural 
colors true to life for 24 years after their introduction to America, though 
scarce another breed was thus neglected. Even the 1912 revision of the 
American Standard of Perfection did not picture Anconas, even in black 
and white. And this same Standard did not even conform to true Anco- 
na type. It was fifteen years after Anconas were introduced into this 
country before there were illustrations and circulars distributed describing 
these worthy fowls. And during this time practically no advertisements 
nor magazine articles appeared in any of the journals about the breed. 
Surely it takes more than ordinary merit to overcome such handicaps. 

34 



I USE OF TOE - PUNCH ^ 



♦ ♦♦%♦ 



T HE BEST method of marking little chicks for identification is by toe 

punching. This is done with a little instrument that is sold by all 

poultry supply dealers, and most poultry magazines, for 25 cents postpaid. 

RIGHT LEFT 



RIGHT LEFT 




The little chicks should be marked 
when very young. I mark them 
when I take them from the incuba- 
tor. The little hole is punched in 
the web of the foot between the toes, 
as far back from the edge of the 
web as possible. 

The accompanying chart shows 
how sixteen different combinations 
can be made. Keep a record of 
how you mark each lot, and you can 
ever after tell when each chick was 
hatched, and its breeding. 

By this method you can let your 
chicks grow up together, and 
yet be able to sort them out at any 
time. 




CHICK TOE -PUNCH 




35 



I COLOR -PLATE endorsed! 

That breeders may know the Ancona Color Plate shown in the first part of this History 
is a true and proper representation of the breed, copies were submitted to some of the best 
Judges in America for their criticism, and several replies are here reproduced: 
From a Veteran Breeder and Judge. 

Natick, Mass., Dec. i, 19 13. 
The Ancona World, Franklinville, N. Y. 

Dear sir: Thanks for your illustration of Anconas. If it were possible for breeders to 
produce even 25 per cent, of the flock to reach a reasonable likeness of these perfect shaped 
Ancona colored illustrations they would throw nearly all the other Mediterranean breeds 
into the obsolete class. 

It is the best illustration I have yet seen. If White Leghorn breeders would adhere to 
this type it would be better for them. It is nearer to true shape than any yet printed. 

I. K. Felch. 

From an Eastern Judge. 

■ ,'■ Bridgeton, N. J., Nov. 29, 191 3. 

The Apcona World, Franklinville, N. Y. 

Dear sir: Your letter, also the Ancona Color Plate received. I would say that the 
shape and color of the two specimen are exceptionally fine, and will be a great help not 
only to the amateur but also to the older breeders, as it will make a boom for one of the 
best breeds today, the Ancona. 

Yours very truly, 

Louis G. Heller. 

From a Leading Artist and Judge. 

Niles, Mich., Nov. 24, 1913. 
The Ancona World, Franklinville, N. Y. 

Dear sir: I received the Color Plate, and appreciate your favor. It is the best color 
study to date that I have seen from Mr. Schilling's brush. It should help greatly to popu- 
larize the Ancona; jjnd prove a safe type to follow for the breed. Thanking you and wish- 
ing you success, i. am 

■ r^/ Faithfully yours, 

;.^''" F. L. Sewell. 

From a Good Ancona Judge. 

■".\ Toledo, O., Nov. 27, 1913. 

Th«.' Ancona World, Franklinville, N. Y. 

Dear sir: Your kind letter of the 20th, inst. with Color Plate enclosed came duly to 
hand. Please accept my thanks for this beautiful picture, and allow me to congratulate 
you on getting out this Color Plate as it will certainly be appreciated by all Ancona 
breeders, and no doubt will be in the library of all real Ancona fanciers. 

Mr. Schilling has given us in this picture a type that we believe will be accepted as 
nearly ideal by a majority of the Ancona breeders. One thing is sure that he has given us 
a type that is a little different than would be called good Leghorn shape, and personally I 
believe this is as it should be and from what we have been able to learn from Ancona breed- 
ers this is what they want, a type of their own. 

36 



If breeders can produce Anconas as good as shown in this Color Plate they can feel 
quite safe in exhibiting at our best shows, and win the blue ribbons. Thanking you again 
and with kind personal regards I am 

Yours very truly, 

A. M. Emch. 
638 Division St. 

From Secretary of American Poultry Association. 

Mansfield, O., Nov. 29, 1913. 
Ancona World, Franklinville, N. Y. 

Gentlemen: Your beautiful illustration of Anconas in natural colors is fine, and a 
work or art truly representing true-to-life the popular fowls, male and female. But few 
colored illustrations to date equal this reproduction. 

Very truly yours, 

S. T. Campbell. 

From Secretary of the Oliio A. P. A. 

Mt. Vernon, O., Nov. 12, 1913. 
The Ancona World, Franklinville, N. Y. 

My dear sir: I wish to acknowledge receipt of your wonderful creation. You will 
please accept my congratulations on the production of the beauty you have produced for 
Ancona breeders. You no doubt will have some letters from so-called critics, but truth- 
fully I would not attempt to offer a single suggestion in way of an improvement in the 
pair. No doubt some of the breeders will say the female has too much white in it, but 
she is just right to suit my fancy. Wish 1 had a pen of the quality they represent. Thank- 
ing you for your letter and the picture 

Believe me most sincerely yours, 

Luther A. Stream. 

From a Poultry Educator. 

Scranton, Pa., Nov. 24, 1913. 
Ancona World, Franklinville, N. Y. 

Dear sir: Both you and Mr. Schilling can be proud of the Color Plate of Anconas. It 
is certainly well done. Thanking you for the courtesy and wishing your journal success. 

I am yours truly, 

T. F. McGrew. 

From a Noted Breeder and Judge. 

Hope, Ind., Nov. 26, 1913. 
Ancona World, Franklinville, N. Y. 
Dear sir: Your letter and Color Plate of Anconas at hand. I want to congratulate 
you on getting out such a splendid Color Plate and assure you it is going to do the breed 
you champion a lot of good. I see no reason why this illustration should not represent the 
breed splendidly; in fact I consider it a good illustration or it would not carry the signa- 
ture of Mr. Schilling. Again complimenting you I beg to remain 

Yours truly, 

U. R. Fishel. 

37 



**Jj^4#****^*% ^^s^^^-s*^*****^******** ***^^******'l^ ********* 
I WHY I AM BREEDING ANCONAS J 

% By James L. Hendry, Louisville. Ky. j 

fZ IRST let me say that this article is not that of a professional. There 
' are many 'things for me to learn about the breed, but I am not enly 
willing but anxious. I have not the finest birds in the land, they score 
91^ to 94; nor have I won first at "Madison Square," but as I am a 
hopeful and persevering cuss, there is no telling what may happen. Years 
ago I had read of'An'conaS and "the dope" seemed good, still you can get 
good dope on any breed. I had kept different breeds at different times 
over a period of twenty years all with little or no success. Golden Wyan- 
dottes, and I love them yet; White Wyandottes, but could never make 
them go; Buff Orpingtons, and still another disappointment; Rose Comb 
Reds and it got worse and worse. The only chicken in all that time that 
showed signs of real success was a splendid cross of pit games, but the 
business of pit games was hardly fitting a deacon in the Presbyterian 
church. My fond memory still takes me back to the pit games, and al- 
though X never saw a cock fight nor a cock with gaffs on, you can take my 
word for (t, there was many a husky scrap in Hendry's shed when he was 
ready to pen up one cock and release another from the single coops for a 
days' run with the hens. My mother and wife both said that it was the 
devil working in me, and perhaps it was, for I liked it. 

So we will let "by-gones be by-gones" and "get down to brass tacks" 
and Anconas. One bright June day an Adams Express wagon drove up 
and left a small box addressed to me and marked "Baby Chicks." I could 
hardly take time to pay the expressage so anxious was I to get a look at 
those Anconas I had ordered. Quickly cutting the twine I raised the lid; 
then there happened the finest case of love at first sight that you can 
imagine. I have seen many beautiful baby chicks, and they are all more 
or less beautiful, but that box of twenty-five little crickets that looked like 
a bed of pansies, were the cutest and most beautiful I ever saw. I believe 
the Anconas get busy before they leave the shell; I know they are busy 
ever afterward. After much bad luck all superinduced by carelessness I 
succeeded in raising eight, and when the June hatched pullets began lay- 
ing in December when eggs were 40 cents per dozen, I began to feel that 
at last I had some real chickens. Later I bought ten large beautiful pul- 
lets and it seems that each day adds some to their busy beauty. When 
I entered a pen in a show of over 600 birds and won sweepstakes, silver 
cup on cockerel for best cockerel in the show, all varieties competing; sec- 
ond best hen in show, all varieties competing; got a pen score of 186|, and 
had one hen score 94, I began to feel that at last I had found my affinity 



in the chicken world. When it is next to impossible to get fresh eggs in 
December, January and February, and you can have a large glass bowl on 
the side board piled up with nice white eggs, and you know their pedigree, 
then you are in the egg business. Now to summarize. When I finally 
got beauty, hardiness, and a splendid egg yield combined in the niftiest 
chicken in the catalog, I became convinced that I had THE CHICKEN. 
You just can't get around that Ancona argument of "more eggs for less 
money," as it is practically conceded that the Ancona will produce more 
on less feed than any breed now known. While it is all right to make a 
stock argument about market fowls, the average fancier just cannot make 
up his mind to cut the head off one of his pretty birds simply to have a 
roast or stew. If you kill a beefer and she dresses six pounds she is a 
corker, while a nice plump Ancona will dress about four pounds. Any of 
the large breeds fatten up and cease to lay profitably after the third year, 
while our Ancona princess keeps right on till she is six. Which is more 
profitable, two pounds of chicken at 25 cents per pound, or at least 175 
eggs per year for two years, approximating 30 dozen at 25 cents per dozen? 
Suppose your Asiatic or American should lay 150 eggs per year for 5 years 
and then leave a six pound carcass, after consuming ^ more feed than an 
Ancona; are you better off than you would be with an Ancona producing 
175 to 200 eggs per year for 5 years and then leave 4 lbs of meat? 



Outline map of Italy, showing the location of Ancona. 







< 


^ 




i 




,y>'* 


J 




''%/ 


^ 


X 




^ 



See chapter on "Origin of Anconas," page 6. 



39 



I HOW A SUCCESS WAS MADE WITH ANCONAS % 

^ By James W. Gibbons in Suburban Life. * 

I HAD one advantage that perhaps some of the readers of this article 
did not enjoy — I was raised on a farm. Aside from this incident, there 
was not the slightest difference between the things that made for my suc- 
cess in the poultry business and those that are coincident with the efforts 
of any person in a similar position. 

Please note that I use the term "poultry business." To many this 
will suggest acres of land, hundreds of fowls, and a heavy outlay of cash 
in buildings and equipment. But let me correct that erroneous idea, for 
to me "poultry business" is but a few fowls on a village lot in a country 
village of less than 2,500 people. 

I had for several years had a good position in an office, at a com- 
fortable salary. But it was a daily grind. I was but a cog in a wheel, 
and the wheel turned by the clock. 

We had a comfortable home (I say "we," for I was blessed with a good 
wife) in the outskirts of the little village. There was but one-half acre of 
land, a large lawn, and the balance in garden. I tended the lawn, shrubs 
and vines, and did some gardening, but had not time to work all the 
ground, so had to hire much of it done; thus the large garden was a source 
of expense rather than a profit. We did not own an animal except a cat; 
and so all the table scraps, lawn clippings, and gleanings from ths garden 
were wasted. 

After a few years of buying peddled milk, store eggs and butter, and 
yearning for some of those table luxuries that are unpurchasable even in a 
country town, we decided that we would keep a few hens. Our sole idea 
at that time was to produce, for home consumption, a few dependable 
fresh-laid eggs and broilers. We started in with one setting hen and thir- 
teen Ancona eggs. Could there be a smaller beginning? 

And here I wish to state that I believe many failures in the poultry 
business are a result of too expensive a beginning. Our success has 
seemed quite phenomenal to our friends and neighbors, but I can see that 
it is but a natural growth from a proper beginning, and that the outcome 
is but what may be achieved by anyone who is interested, and will give 
the venture the same reasonable care and attention to details that is de- 
manded by any other line of work. 

The nine little Ancona chicks resulting from our first hatch were a 
source of much real pleasure to us. The old white Wyandotte hen was 
not more proud of her family than were my wife and I. I made a little 
movable coop and separate park, that we moved about on the lawn, and 
kept the "flock" clean and healthy. Every chick matured, and we had a 
nucleus for a flock that has since made quite a record. 

40 



Our Anconas were wintered in a shack of old boards that cost but a 
few cents to make ready. The pullets began to lay at a surprisingly early 
age, at least two months before we expected, and our table was thereafter 
supplied with fresh eggs that we could safely eat with our eyes shut. The 
cockerels we ate made us determined to increase our flock as fast as pos- 
sible, so that our table might more frequently be supplied with chicken. 

Our Ancona hens and pullets laid so many more eggs than the simi- 
lar flocks of other breeds of our neighbors that we soon realized that we 
had a valuable asset in our poultry. The basket of eggs that went to the 
grocery every week practically eliminated our living expenses so far as 
table fare was concerned. Then it was that we began to plan on what 
chickens might do for us, and to figure on making poultry-keeping a busi- 
ness. We had plenty of enthusiasm, and at this stage had acquired the 
practical experience that made us assured of success. But were we not 
handicapped for room? 

As stated, our lot was but half an acre in extent, from which must be 
taken a large lawn and a vegetable garden ; consequently our poultry pos- 
sibilities must be somewhat ciscumscribed in area. We already had a 
young orchard of sixteen choice trees, and a plentiful supply of currant 
bushes and grape vines, that were beginning to bear fruit. We decided 
to turn the greater part of the garden into hen-parks, and build a goodly 
sized hen-house about fifty feet long. This was done, and it was the only 
considerable expense that has ever entered into our poultry business. 

The hen parks we made to include the entire orchard, and thus had 
nice shade from the first. The hen-house was substantially built; we used 
cement floors in the scratching sheds; the adjoining roosting and laying 
rooms had dropping boards, and the roosts were hinged at the back, so it 
was easy to clean underneath. There was plenty of light — windows faced 
the south — and the scratching sheds were largely open-front, closed only 
by a hinged curtain of unbleached muslin. 

Since the first years of our entry into the poultry business, we have 
used artificial incubating and brooding. We had sufficient capacity so 
that our large hennery did not have to be idle, but was filled to its limit 
the first winter. Eggs that winter were forty-five cents per dozen in the 
local market, and our income from them were several dollars per day. 

We did not depend upon the local stores for a market, but shipped 
to the city. I had spent several days in the city looking up private trade ; 
I canvassed the best class of people during the season when eggs were 
scarce and the quality of store eggs very unsatisfactory. Our Anconas 
were laying while other people's hens were on a vacation, and it made it 
possible for us to supply fresh eggs when the city customers were anxious 
to get them. We kept posted on the markets, and our price went up 
whenever there was a strengthening of market conditions. We always 
advanced five cents a dozen at a time and have sold eggs to our city cus- 

41 



tomers at twenty-one cents per dozen above the price of eggs at our local 
stores. Our trade stood by us the year around, and was cash every thirty 
days. We thought we had the "best ever" in our line of customers, but, 
will yeubcheveit, there came a time when we threw it up because we had 
something in the poultry line that paid many times better! But of that I 
will tell you later. 

Our poultry business at this time had grown to become quite an ex- 
tensive proposition, and my wife and I worked hard before and after 
"regular hours." Our city customers were eager for broilers, and we of 
course, were as eager to supply them. I made a trip to the city, to get 
prices at the most exclusive shops, and when I examined the broilers they 
offered for sale, I raised our price; for, after knowing what a dainty mor- 
sel a fancy broiler is, I would not eat the inferior carcasses exhibited in 
the best city markets. 

Our broilers went as fast as we could dress them. We took great pains 
to send only fancy birds, and our Ancona cockerels had the yellow skin 
and legs that made them winners when our customers saw them. We 
cleaned them thoroughly, and they certainly did look appetizing. For 
the early ones we got $1.75 per pair; they dressed about one and one-fourth 
pounds. 

About this time it began to dawn upon our minds that there was bet- 
ter money in the chicken business than there was in working by the week 
on a salary. However, we did not feel that we could afford to give up the 
pay check as yet, but began to plan on doing so just as soon as we could 
fio-ure out an income that would be adequate for our own resources, and 
not be dependent on a "job" for our "life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness." 

We finally concluded that we could "run our own shanty." I was 
like a boy out of school the first week away from the office. I felt like 
wandering about the house and yard exploring my new domain. I fixed 
up the screen doors; helped my wife clean house; settled my den that had 
been in a state of chaos for two years; wrote long friendly letters to a dozen 
people I should have written months before; planned work ahead, and 
studied up "buried resources." Now that I had leisure time, I must em- 
ploy it profitably, and we were surprised at the resources lying latent 
ready for developement. 

I wrote to several daily papers proffering my services as their local 
correspondent. Two of them (in different cities) were glad to have me 
represent them, and for this service I received from one four dollars per 
column and from the other two dollars per column for all the news they 
accepted from my pen. I soon got famihar with their style and the class 
of matter they wanted, and found it very pleasant and profitable em- 
ployment. 



42 



I had for years used a camera as a source of pleasure, and now I turned 
it to good account. I sent many pictures to the daily papers,and occasion- 
ally to some magazines, and by this means added a snug sura to the annual 
budget. I also did quite a lot of local post-card work, making them up 
to order only. 

I now had time to give our garden all the care it needed, and it was 
no longer an item of expense, but a source of profit. I found that a gar- 
den is profitable if it is not tilled by hired help. Not only did we provide 
sumptuously for our own table, had a little revenue from the surplus, and 
at our agricultural fair we received nearly $50 in premium money. 

We never had had all the milk we wished. A little daughter came 
to gladden our home, and we felt that we should have better milk and 
more of it. The outcome was the purchase of a high-grade Jersey cow. 
We were uncertain about the advantage of the deal, but we made the in- 
vestment from other motives. 

How we did revel in "enough and to spare" of rich new milk, butter, 
buttermilk, cream and cottage cheese! We sold some milk by the quart 
to neighbors, who preferred it to bottled milk peddled from the wagons. 
We also sold much butter, cottage cheese and buttermilk. People came 
to the house for these things. Occasionally a local grocer sold some of our 
surplus, but it was rarely that there was any more than regular customers 
consumed. The first year the gross receipts from our Jersey cow were 
$168, which, after deducting expense of feed, pasturing, and interest on 
the investment, left a very satisfactory profit. (We have not kept any 
book account of our cow since the first year.) The skimmed milk did 
our hens and chickens good. 

We found it most satisfactory to feed only the best to our poultry, 
and have always been liberal in the use of beef scrap, chick grain, charcoal, 
grit, developing and scratching food, alfalfa, etc. Early in our poultry 
career I took the agency of a few reliable poultry supply houses, which 
allowed us to secure all our equipment and supplies at wholesale, and a 
considerable profit on the goods sold at retail. 

It had never been possible for people in our vicinity to purchase poul- 
try supplies at home, and it really was surprising how many farmers and 
villagers were interested in poultry and well posted on poultry matters. 
Hardly a day passed during the chicken season that we did not have 
several customers for feeds, equipment, remedies, etc., and the second 
year our sales amount to over $1,000. 

I spoke of our discarding our private trade in the city because we 
found something more profitable. Our private trade was constant, cash 
and always brought us from 5 to 20 cents per dozen above local market 
price for our eggs, and a very fancy price for broilers. 

The first few years of our poultry business we did not give a thought 
to the fancy. We had no: dea of showing, or attempting to sell eggs for 

43 



hatching, or stock for breeding. There were no other Ancona fowls in 
our vicinity, and our flock created much interest among other breeders. 
By comparison, our hens laid better, and our chicks developed quicker, 
than those of other breeds kept by our neighbors and friends. After a 
while we began to notice in the poultry journals that the Anconas were 
coming to the front in the show-room, and that Ancona breeders were 
having a big demand for their product. 

More for fun and curiosity than any other motive, we decided to send 
some of our birds to a good show, and picked out a five-thousand-bird show 
as a starter. You can imagine our surprise and delight when three-fourths 
of the birds we sent won prizes, and the class was the largest of its 
kind up to that time. There was plenty of competition, and we were 
convinced that here was a new opening for us, and one we were not slow 
to take advantage of. 

Our first step was to name our poultry place, and get out some at- 
tractive stationery and a good circular; and to do a little advertising. 
This was the best investment we ever made. We could not have done 
better if we had been in training for this very thing for years. We had 
the stock, we understood them, we got the orders. Our first year in the 
fancy business quite serieusly interf erred with our city private trade; but 
we managed to carry it along by cutting out the smaller customers. 

The second year we showed more birds, did more advertising, got 
better prices, and gave up the fresh-egg customers entirely. We had to 
turn down several orders for stock, as we raised only five hundred little 
chicks. It seemed good to us to sell eggs at twenty cents apiece, and fowls 
at from $3.50 to $25 each. 

We are so glad that we undertook poultry keeping, and thoroughly 
enjoy the work, the freedom and the profits. Our income is much more 
than my salary ever was, and we are independent in every sense of the 
word. There is no secret to our success; it just came naturally, as has 
been recited. We have not attempted the intensive systems whereby we 
might increase our flock four-fold on our back lot. We have used no "sys- 
tems" nor "secrets," but just plain common sense, and do not hesitate to 
say that what we have done anybody can do. 



44 



TWELVE ANCONA POINTS I 

■ AM a suburbanite, and have bred many kinds of fowl during the past 
■[twenty years. 

I discarded all other breeds for Anconas, which I have bred exclusively 
for seven years, for the following twelve reasons: 

(1) Anconas eat less than any other breed, either Mediterranean, 
American, or Asiatic classes. This is an important item, when one must 
buy all their feed, at the high prices of recent years. 

(2) Anconas lay large white eggs, and produce them at the least 
possible cost per dozen. Figuring on a yearly basis, including the vari- 
ations in prices of both eggs and feed, my fowls produce eggs at a cost of 
ten cents per dozen. This is not figuring eggs at above local market 
prices. Anconas are not excelled as egg-producers by any breed. 

(3) Pullets begin laying at from four to five months old, and are 
prolific layers until they are four years old at least. It is not necessary 
to replace the old stock with pullets each year, or two years, as must be 
done with other breeds if the flock is kept profitable. I frequently have 
among my best layers four-year-old hens. 

(4) The baby chicks are extremely hardy and vigorous, the death 
rate is very low, and they are quick to develop to the light broiler stage. 
The fertility of the eggs and the strength of the germs always insures a 
good hatch. It may not be a characteristic of the breed, but ray experi- 
ence has been seventy to eighty per cent, pullets in all hatches. 

(5) Anconas are excellent winter layers, when the price of eggs are 
high. And this, too, without any nostrums or concentrated feeds. The 
thermometer has reached forty degrees below zero here and last winter 
there were three months of incessant cold weather ranging from zero to 
thirty degrees below. I use canvas front houses. 

(6) Anconas are excellent table fowls. The meat is of fine grain and 
of good flavor; their skin is yellow. 

(7) Anconas are beautiful fowls, and a flock of them always catches 
the eye of a true fancier. They are an ornament to any grounds. Their 
color is a mottled black and white, the black back-ground has a beetle- 
green luster (very pronounced in the males,) and is flecked irregularly 
with white tips on about twenty per cent, of the feathers. The comb and 
wattles are bright red, earlobes white or creamy, shanks clear yellow or 
slightly mottled. Their erect carriage and alertness put them in a "beauty 
class" all by themselves. 

(8) There is an enormous demand for stock and eggs, and Ancona 
breeders are unable to fill the orders. I make over $10 per hen, per year, 

45 



from eggs shipped for hatching, am sold ahead from March 1 to May 15, 
and have to turn down many orders. Other breeders report the same 
conditions. 

(9) Anconas are not bred in a multitude of hues. There is but one 
color— the mottled. If a person wants Anconas, I am ready to do business , 
and don't have to lose an order because the customer wants brown and I 
have buff. I believe that it is too confusing and bothersofiieXif n<tfV'&k\i- 
ally injurious) to have a breed that is made over into brown, buff, red, 
white, black, silver, barred, penciled, Columbian, partridge, etc. If a 
breed is satisfactory in all respects, there is no reason to create a multi- 
plicity of variations in plumage. The Ancona cannot be improved upon, 
in my opinion. 

(10) Anconas are tame, and not so flighty and nervous as most of the 
Mediterranean breeds. They are not the lazy kind that are always under 
foot, but are docile, and easily approached without becoming excited. 

(11) They are non-sitters. A broody Ancona is a rarity. 

(12) Ancona breeders are well-organized, thus stimulating the exhi- 
bition interests of Ancona breeders, which gives zest to the game, and 
plenty of opportunities for winning ribbons, medals, cash and trophies. 

These reasons are why I am breeding Anconas exclusively, and I be- 
lieve other suburbanites would agree with me, if they had the same light 
in poultrycraft. 

It is a good sign of the merits of any breed of poultry when those 
who Iceep that breed are wildly enthusiastic as those are who favor the 
Ancona/ Indeed, as one of the prominent poultry magazines lately said: 
"The Ancona people have the reputation of being the most enthusiastic in 
behalf of their breed." Another poultry journal of recent date contains 
this significant item: "We notice in our exchaneres that the Ancona is fast 
winning its way to the front as an egg producer, and is every day becom- 
ing more prominent." It is to this great enthusiasm on the part of An- 
cona breeders that the remarkable advances in popularity of these most 
satisfactory fowls in the last few years is due. 

The poultry-keepers in the western states particularly have taken 
them up, and through the middle and eastern states Anconas have a splen- 
did following. The modern specimens of this ancient Mediteranean breed 
have a prominent place at all of the worth-while shows. — Special article 
from Suburban Life. 



46 



t FROM "POULTRY ITEM" MAGAZINE 

♦ Commending Ancona Fowls 

#f^frfr»» »»f»»»» ^^»»»^^^|^^||^»)^^||^»|^)^^^^»)|^)^^^^|^^^^ . )^^ ^ ||^)^ t ^^.^ ^ ^ 

A NCONAS can no longer be considered a new breed, as they have be- 
^^ come plentifully sprinkled in nearly every section of the country. In 
many states they outnumber some of the older breeds, and the shows of 
importance now have the Ancona classes amppg the best filled in the 
show room. 

There has been no unwarranted boom of Anconas. Their introduc- 
tion began in a small way without advertising, and for nearly ten years 
their increase was due solely to personal recommendation and the curiosity 
awakened by occasional contact with the then new breed by a breeder 
who had seen and admired the few specimens infrequently exhibited at 
poultry shows or at the yards of the few and scattering Ancona breeders. 

Finally the merits of Anconas ais prolific layers of large white eggs 
came to the attention of the commercial poultry public. Their beauty 
and possibilities in fancy breeding excited the admiration of those breeders 
interested in the exhibition end of poultry craft, and then concerted action 
was taken to extend their acquaintance among poultry raisers generally. 
However, Anconas were well established as a utility fowl several years be- 
fore any attempt was made to boost them. 

The value of Ancona fowls lies in the fact that they produce eggs at the 
least cost per dozen of any known breed. This is due to the dual advan- 
tage of heavy egg production and small eating characteristics of the breed, 
together with the fact that the pullets begin laying at the early age of 16 
weeks, and continue to be profitable layers until three and even four years 
old. Their eggs are white and large. 

While no pretense is made that Anconas are a market fowl, yet their 
flesh is very sweet and the chicks develop quickly to the light broiler stage. 
The skin is yellow and the carcass plump, which is a very desirable quality 
in table fowls. 

Anconas are adapted to back lots, mixed farms, or exclusive poultry 
plants. They stand confinement well, are hardy, not susceptible to disease, 
and are good foragers on free range. 

Although Ancona breeders are now numbered by the thousands in 
every section of the United States and in Canada, yet the supply is not 
equal to the demand and those breeders who advertise are unable to fill 
all their orders, though they are continually increasing their capacity. 
Prices are very good, and those who are breeding Anconas and have stock 
and eggs for sale are making nice money. The country is large and breed- 
ers seem to be multiplying faster than are the fowls. National magazines, 
large daily and Sunday newspapers, and the agricultural press are all giv- 

47 



ing much prominence to poultry matters, and new breeders are thus being 
created daily. These days, when new breeders take up poultry raising 
they become interested in popular breeds, and do not take up the "has- 
beens." Consequently those worthy breeds that are making a mark now, 
such as Anconas are very pronouncedly doing, are the ones in demand. 
It is worthy of note that those breeders who experiment with Anconas 
along side of other breeds, almost invariable retain Anconas and discard 
the less profitable ones. It is very, very rarely that* a breeder of this var- 
iety gives up the breed, unless he quits the poultry business entirely. 

The appearance of Anconas is very pleasing to the fancier. They are 
mottled black and white; the background being of black, and the white is 
a V-shaped tip on the end of about 20 per cent, of the feathers. The black 
on the males has a greenish luster. The legs and beak are yellow, with 
slight shadings, the comb and wattles bright red and ear lobes white or 
creamy. They are active, alert, bright eyed, proud in carriage and tame. 

Anconas are native to the eastern coast of Italy, and derive their name 
from the city and province of Ancona, one of the geographical divisions of 
The Marches. They have been pure bred in their native land for centuries 
and no history of their origin is obtainable. If there is any mixture of 
other blood in them there is no knowledge of the fact, as great pains and 
expense have been exercised to trace their earliest history, and nothing 
can be ascertained except that they have been bred as now for generations 
in and around Ancona, and nothing more is known of them in their native 
clime. 

Baby Anconas are canary colored, and their backs are black. They 
are very hardy, and develope rapidly. They never lose their neat and 
sleek appearance, and are always well feathered. 

While there are both single and rose comb Anconas, there is but one 
variety of color. No attempt is made to breed them in a multiplicity 
of hues, such as red, buff, brown, etc. 

They were admitted to the American Standard of Perfection in 1895. 
Many of the leading breeders have imported some high class stock from 
Europe but it is now conceded that the breeders of the United States have 
perfected Anconas until little is left to be desired, and it would be more 
consistent for American breeders to export now rather than import 
them. 



48 



I SYMPOSIUM OF BREEDERS | 

I MIGHT state the facts set forth in the following testimonials and you 
* would say I am boosting my breed and making extravagant claims- 
And it is to avoid just this thing that I append the following extracts from 
letters written by practical and experienced poultry men and women from 
all parts of the country, in all stations in life, and raising fowls of all var- 
ieties in all the different conditions one can conceive. 

Every one of these testimonials are unsolicited, and are the frank ex- 
pressions made by the people whose names and addresses are attached, and 
the letters are on file in the office of the writer. 

Read them thoughtfully and consider what it means for such unquali- 
fied endorsements to be given one breed of fowls under such varying con- 
ditions of climate, care, housing, feeding, etc. 

J. A. Biehler, Strasburg, Illinois: I have been in the chicken business for five years, 
and have had nothing as good as Anconas. They lay more eggs and eat one-third less than 
any large breed, and do as well in a small place. 

T. Z. Richey, Cannelton, Indiana: Two years ago I placed ten Barred Rocks in com- 
petition with ten Anconas. Strict account was kept for eighteen months, at the end of 
which time it was found that each Ancona had netted a profit of fifty cents more than each 
Rock. 

L. M. Barrett, Morristown, Tenn: I have been in the poultry business thirteen years 
and bred Anconas alongside Brown, White and Buff Leghorns, Barred Rocks and Rhode 
Island Reds, The Anconas left the others so far behind in egg laying that I discarded my 
other fowls and devote my fifteen acres to Anconas. 

E. G. Hoare, England: I bought four Ancona pullets very late hatched, about the 
end of July. They began to lay in February, and until the moult in July I got three to 
four eggs daily, which was continued until January, when they stopped for three weeks be- 
cause of a change of pens. 

J. Anderson, Lochenbee, Dumfries, Scotland: I have kept Anconas three years, and 
would not be without them for a regular supply of eggs winter and summer. My regular 
customers prefer Ancona cockerels for the table; they say they are all flesh with very little 
bone. 

Isaac Keay, Blairgowrie, Scotland: Our Anconas were laying in January when other 
breeds were not. I have been getting twelve and thirteen eggs a day from sixteen Ancona 
hens since the end of January. Few eggs sold had to be replaced for infertility. 

Mrs. Charles E. Bacon, Middletown, Con.: I like my Anconas very much. They are 
so tame, and lay such large white eggs and have laid wonderfully well. I have about one 
hundred Rhode Island Reds, but if I continue to keep poultry I shall raise Anconas only. 

Francis Walsh, 614 W. Indiana Ave., Philadelphia: I gotten chicks from thirteen 
Ancona eggs shipped me from another state. I think they are the healthiest and livliest 
chicks I ever saw, and everybody who sees them says the same thing. 

49 



Horatio L. Finch, South Norwalk, Conn., I got a sitting of fifteen Ancona eggs from 
New York, and hatched fourteen nice strong chicks, which shows pretty good fertility. 

Will H. Tuttle, Vesper, New York: The five Ancona hens I recently bought have laid 
sixty eggs the last twelve days, five every day. They open the eyed of people around here. 
My next door neighbor has twenty-one hens of a different breed, and gets but few more 
eggs than I do from five. One of my Ancona pullets hatched April l6, began laying Sep- 
tember 3, and has not skipped a day in two weeks. 

William E. Barber, Flixton, near Manchester, England: I have kept a great many 
breeds of fowls, and I have no hesitation in saying that the Ancona of a good laying strain 
will lay more eggs for the weight of food consumed, than any other fowl. 

O. M. Morse, Fort Scott, Kansas: I have an Ancona pullet that first laid when she 
was four months and four days old, and within seventeen days had laid fifteen eggs. Sev- 
eral of her mates laid before they were five months old. 

A. L. Helvin, 910 E. 28 St., Norfolk, Va.: Nine of eleven of my February hatched 
Ancona pullets were laying at seventeen weeks old. I have had fine luck with my birds. 

Dr. Edith K. Neel, Santa Rosa, Fia.: I have kept thoroughbred poultry for years, and 
prefer Anconas to Rocks, Orpingtons, Wyandottes, and Reds, because Anconas lay more 
eggs and are easier keepers. 

H. B. Rodgers, Troy, Ohio.: I discarded Black Langshans for Anconas. Anconas 
hare made good with me and I regard them as the best of all breeds. 

G. H. Hubbard, Lock Haven, Pa.: In a comparative test I found Anconas so farout- 
classed the Rocks and Leghorns as egg producers that I discarded the former breeds and keep 
Anconas only. 

JeflF H. Allen, Springfield, Mo.: If anyone has better layers than my Anconas I would 
like to find them. I have Ancona pullets that began laying at sixteen weeks old. 

Mrs. Noble Stairs, Eimgrove, Ky.: My experience has been that Anconas beat Leg- 
horns as layers, which is saying a great deal. And the Anconas lay such beautiful large 
white eggs. 

C. A. Newton, Vassar, Michigan: One of my Ancona pullets laid in the coop while at 
the show, at the early age of three months and fifteen days, 

J. E. Tipple, Union City, Ind. : If it's eggs you want, keep Anconas. I have for years 
been a breeder of various kinds ef fowls. 

C. S. Teachout, Richland, Washington: Anconas are in the front ranks here. I have 
tried them out with other laying breeds and have come to the conclusion that Anconas arc 
the best layers on earth. 

C. H. Smith, Cascade, N. Y.: I bred Leghorns, Wyandottes, Rocks and Brahmas for 
seventeen years, and discarded them all for Anconas, because the latter are more profitable 
and nicest of them all. 

Howard R. Conover, Titusville, Pa.: I have bred Anconas ten years, and consider 
them the best all 'round chickens on earth. 

A. H. Emch, a poultry Judge of Toledo, Ohio: Whenever I meet a fancier who wants 
to breed Mediterraneans I always recommend Anconas, as I believe an ameteur has a bet- 
ter chance to make good with them than if he tried anything else. 

J. Joyce Gottschall, Mendon, Ohio.: During January I got as many eggs from my 
two pens of Anconas as my father did from three times as many Leghorns and Rocks. 

F. G. Fish, Ashboro, N. C: I have loi Anconas and 33 Rocks. The Rocks eat as 
much as do the whole bunch of Anconas. At eight weeks old little Ancona chicks weigh 
two ounce! more than do Rocks raised in the same brood. 

SO 



B. L. & A. Bellinger, Weyauwega, Wis,: We like Anconai better every year; they are 
the best all 'round layers we ever had, and we get more eggs in the winter than any of our 
neighbors that have other breeds. 

G. G. Schueller, Walla Walla, Washington: I tried six other breeds before I settled on 
Anconas. Anconas are the money makers. From February i to June I, I cleared $S.6^ on 
each Ancona I had in my four breeding pens. 

J. W. Frost, Portville, N. Y.: I have bred Anconas for ten years, and discarded $ev» 
eral other breeds for them, as no other equal them for eggs. 

Chas. W. Craie, Pocahontas, Illinois: I have bred Langsbans, Rocks, Leghorns and 
Reds, but Anconas beat them all. No other fowls equal Anconas. 

C. S. Cole, Sullivan, O.: I think Anconas are wonders. Both last year and this I had 
pullets laying at sixteen weeks old. Anconas are the greatest egg machines I ever saw. 

H. U. King, Urbana, Ohio: Anconas are the best fowls bred in America. 

Howard R. Conover, Titusville, Pa.: It doesn't take an Ancona pullet long to pay for 
herself. I have had all kinds of chickens but never any that can compare with Anconas. 
For eggs and beauty Anconas have other breeds stopped. 

Mrs. J. F. Mc Murray, Van Buren, Ohio: Anconas are the greatest layers I ever 
owned; and I have had White and Barred Rocks, Reds and Houdans. My April hatched 
pullets weighed four pounds in November, and were laying at four and one-half months 
old, with no beef scrap nor forcing. 

John J. Nostrand, Farmingdale, N. Y.: I have bred a great many varieties of fowls, 
and Anconas excell all others. 

Samuel Void, Cressman, Pa.: I have bred Anconas since 1907, and find them to be my 
ideal breed. In March I had a pen of nine pullets lay 201 eggs, which is going some for a 
winter month. 

Frank W. Laird, Hewitt, N. J.: I am so well pleased with Anconas that I am raising 
no others, though I have been interested in White Leghorns for years. Anconas will lay 
more eggs, eat less feed, are hardier, stand confinement better, and raise a larger per cent, 
of chicks than any other breed. 

A. F. Rhodei, Kansas City, Kan.: In ten years I tried seven varieties, and Anconas 
laid the best of all. Anconas lay the most eggs when prices are high. 

W.W. Carson, Tazewell, Va.: I have tried most of the important breeds and find 
Anconas by far the most satisfactory. They eat less feed and lay more eggs than other 
breeds, and are the healthiest fowls I have ever seen. They are unsurpassed as a table 
fowl. My Anconas are very tame. 

Mrs. Jay E. Miller, Tuscaloosa, Ala.: We never before saw such layers as the Anconas. 
They are truly egg machines, and have no superiors. 

Mrs. Adaline R. Gosler, Matfield Green, Kan.: During December, January and Feb- 
ruary I got more eggs from eighteen Ancona pullets than from fifty Plymouth Rocks, so I 
am quite naturally in favor of Anconas. 

H. L. Finch, South Norwalk, Conn.: I have found that Anconas excel other breeds 

for eggs, beauty and hardiness. 

C. A. Burdick, Albany, Ind.: I recognize the fact that Anconas are the best egg pro« 
ducers in existence, and the most profitable poultry to breed. 

A. C. Uten, Cedar Rapids, Iowa: The Ancona stands above all others as the "egg 
breed," and also as a winter layer. 

Mrs. W.J. Welborn, Flour Bluff, Texas: I hare some Ancona pullets laying that are 
less than four months old. I am highly pleased with the breed. 

SI 



Andrew Marlnee, New Springfield, Ohio: Anconas are a delight to all who possess 
them. My three-year-old Ancona hens are laying like pullets. 

Arthur Peters, Colborne, Ontario: I want a beautiful medium size fowl that will take 
less coop room and eat less, and lay more eggs than other fowls, — and I have this in my 
Anconas. 

Charles R. Beardsley, Sidney Center, N. Y.: I find Anconas the best layers I ever 
kept, and want no other breed. 

J. H. Van Dever, Tiffin, Ohio: When one of my neighbors discovered in midwinter 
that my Anconas were laying better than any other chickens in the community, he sold 
his fowls and bought Anconas. Anconas are their own best advertisement. 

Mrs. Daisy Rose, Bois D'Arc. Mo.: My forty-seven Ancona pullets, during March 
and April laid an average of 25 2 eggs per week. Anconas gain in favor wherever introduced. 

Otis G. Loomis, Mauston, Wisconsin: My several years of poultry breeding has con- 
vinced me that Anconas beat all other breeds. 

O. P. Stames, Cowichan Sta., B. C: February i8th I set twenty-two Ancona eggs 
under Plymouth Rock hens and had a one hundred per cent, hatsh, 

J. A. Biehler, Strasburg, Illinois: I have been in the chicken business for years and 
have found none as good as Anconas. They lay more eggs and eat one-third less than any 
other breeds. 

Samuel G. Seeger, 1725 N. 8th St., Philadelphia, Pa.: I have quit two other breeds, 
as I have found Anconas much better egg producers, and cost less to feed than any other 
breed. 

James L. Hendry, Louisville, Ky.: Anconas are the fowls of merit, and are going to 
the top like a cork in water. 

William Meginnis, Baltimore, Md.: I consider Anconas a grand fowl, and do not 
think their good qualities are at thoroughly appreciated by our more highly cultured fanci- 
ers as they should be. Still they are rapidly gaining ground in the hearts of the larger 
breeders, and I look for them to rank among the foremost birds. 

J. W. Stewart, Big Rapids Michigan: I have had several good breeds of chickens, but 
the Anconas beat them all when it comes to producing eggs. 

H. R. Yokom, Mapleton, S. Dakota: The Ancona hen can't be beaten when it comes 
to laying. 

Mrs. C. E. Thompson, Piano, Iowa: Anconas are the only chickens I want. 

Hawkes Bros., prominent breeders in England: We have a pen of Anconas consisting 
of eight pullets and one cockerel, and each pullet averaged 115 eggs in 118 days. They are 
very hardy birds, small eaters, lay large white eggs , and are fast becoming a popular bird 
in England. 

Dr. W. E. Allen, San Diego, California: After years of experience, during which time 
I have tried out most of the popular breeds. I find that Anconas will produce more eggs 
on the amount of food consumed than any other breed. They are good layers in winter of 
large white eggs, and the fertility runs high; the chicks are hardy, easily grown, and make 
broilers at little cost. 

Marion Hill, Geneva, N. Y.: I have raised Anconas for six years. I have bred Leg- 
horns, Wyandottes Andalusians, and Minorcas, but as none of them compare with Anconas 
I now breed Anconas exclusively. 

C. F. Thornton, Riddle, Ore.: I never saw the equal of Anconas as persistent, year 
'round layers. I have had White and Brown Leghorns, and Reds here on the farm, but 
have only Anconas now. Anconas proved by far the best winter layers, and require less 
feed. They are the best breed for the farmer. 



Mrs. J. F. Mc Murray, Van Buren, Ohio: An Ancona pullet I hatched from "Beauty 
Strain" eggs began laying January I2th, and skipped but five days in over three months. 

C. A. Knight, Olena, Ohio: I have tried all kinds of fowls and have chosen Anconas, 
and will stick to them until I find something that outlays them. 

F. W. Middleton, Moores Hill, Indiana: I have lever seen anything that looks 
like a chicken that can beat, or equal, Anconas in shelling out eggs the year around. 
My first hatch this spring cams off January i6th, and one pullet laid her first egg May 
l6th, and another one laid the following day. I think that is going some! Laying at four 
months and not force fed. I use trap nests. 

Howard R. Conover, Titusville, Pa.: Until ten years ago I bred S. C. Brown Leghorns, 
and then changed to Anconas. I have never been sorry, as Anconas are larger and better 
winter layers. 

R. Woolery, Salem, Oregon: I have discovered through experience the Ancona to be 
unexcelled as fall and winter layer. 

Mrs. Jay E. Miller, Tuscaloosa, Alabama: People here are amazed at the way my 
Ancona hens lay, and many ask me what I feed them. I tell them it is not the feed but 
the breed. Get Anconas and you will have success. 

Mrs. J. E. Fay, Elmira, N. Y.: I have bred many kinds of poultry. For several 
years I bred R. L Reds, until 191 1 I thought I would try Anconas. I have 300 Anconas, 
and shall get rid of my Reds and breed none but Anconas, as they are the best layers of 
all the poultry in the world. 

Adaline R. Gosler, Matfield Green, Kansas: The great superiority of Anconas lies in 
their prolific and continuous egg production, in which they lead all varieties I know any- 
thing about. 

Jos. E. Blackshaw, M. D., San Ysidro, California: I weigh every ounce of feed my 
hens get and know that no other fowl lays a dozen marketable eggs so cheap as do Anconas. 

Phil Zeigler, Strasburg, Ohio: I am so well pleased with Anconas that I have cut out 
all other breeds. Anconas are the only one "best breed." 

R. M. Shakleford, Paso Robles, California: In the fall of 1911 I had about three 
thousand Leghorns and two hundred and fifty Ancona pullets. The Anconas began laying 
earlier than the Leghorns and have continued to lay better than the Leghorns. I am so 
much better pleased with the Anconas that I shall remove all the Leghorns and replace 
them with Anconas. 

C. M. Dedrick, Manitowoc, Wisconsin: I have bred Anconas for several years, and 
like them better than any other breed I ever tried. I have bred most of the standard va- 
rieties, but in the north during the cold winter months the Anconas are the most productive. 

Robert Meyer, Canton, Ohio: One of my neighbors has several Ancona pullets that 
started laying at several days short of sixteen weeks old. Another one hatched Ancona 
chicks April 10 and the first pullet laid in just fifteen weeks to a day. 

C. S. Kilgore, Seattle, Washington: I have bred Anconas several seasons, and have so 
much confidence in them that I have discarded all other breeds and breed Anconas ex- 
clusively. 

T. J. Pickett, Pomona, California: I find Anconas superior to any birds I have ever 
handled, and I have been a chicken fancier since a boy and have owned some very fancy 
stock. 

Frank Maag, Orange, California: I am well pleased with Anconas during the several 
years I have bred them, and I believe they are the best layers. 

Chas. G. Cole, Seattle, Washington: I had Buff Orpingtons and Anconas. The An- 
conas will lay three eggs while the Buff Orpington will lay one, and this too with less feed. 
The Ancona is the best egg producer in the world. 

S3 



S. J. Wright, Vineland, N. J. My Anconas are laying fine, and beat my Leghorns 
all to pieces. 

Mrs. J. G. Arrington, Castalian Springs, Tenn.: Anconas mature so rapidly that they 
are often laying at four and one-half months old, and lay during the coldest weather when 
eggs are high. This is the secret of their popularity. 

De Lloyd Schell.Battle Creek, Michigan: I have had a good deal of experience with 
several breeds of chickens, but after this it's Anconas for mine. I never worked with stock 
where I got such a large percentage of exhibition birds as with Anconas. 

Mrs. Geo. W. Skinner, Geneva, 111.: I have had twenty-eight years experience keep- 
ing poultry, and have had about every breed. Have had Anconas for the past five years, 
and they lay more and eat less than ony other breed. 

Frank P. Potter, Liverpool, Pa.: My seventeen May hatched Ancona pullets are but 
twenty-three eggs behind a flock of forty first-class pullets of White and Brown Leghorns 
and B. P. Rocks. 

Peter C. Schmahl, Buffalo, N. Y.: Anconas are the greatest fowls on earth. 

Howard T. Baldwin, Denver, Colorado: Our neighbors and friends have marvelled at 
the way our Anconas shelled out the eggs during the months of December and January, 
while people with flocks of fifty or sixty of mixed varieties were buying eggs for their own use. 

C. H. Musselman, Cabazon, California: No bird has made such progress on the Pa- 
cific slope during the past few years as has the Ancona. The Ancona Is rightfully dubbed 
•'The Business Bird," for when it comes to producing winter eggs she has no competitors, 
but stands supreme in a class alone. 

Mrs. J. E. Fay> Elmira, N. Y.: I have a pen of fifteen Anconas that lay from ten to 
twelve eggs every day. Anconas are the best fowls I ever had, as well as the handsomest. 

JosephPettipher, near Banbury, England: I kept Anconas away back in theseventles, 
and am greatly interested in the breed. I am a great believer in them as egg producers. 

Mrs. L. W. Gilbert, Tipton, Mo.: I have nine Ancona pullets laying at four and one- 
half to five months old. Anconas develop quicker than my Wyandottes and I like them 

fine. 

S. B. Lininger, Greenfield, Ind.: Anconas beat all other breeds as layers. 

John C. Meyer, Oconto Falls, Wisconsin: Anconas stand first for maturing early, first 
as egg producers, and first for beauty. 

F. D. Green, Zephyrhill, Florida: I have a pen of nine Ancona hens and three pullets 
that laid 1206 eggs in five months. While I was living in Washington I got more eggs 
from fifteen Anconas than my neighbors did from seventy-five to one hundred hens of other 
breeds. 

John B. Firestone, Spencer, Ohio: H you want fowls for early maturity, eggs of good 
size and lots of them, get Anconas. I have bred them for years, and am highly pleased 
with them. 

Mrs. Constance Bourlay, of Frankley Rectory, Birmingham, England, says in Wright's 
Book of Poultry: For many years we kept a few fowls. They were expected to eat up the 
house scraps, lay a few eggs, and occasionally appear at the table. They often died, and 
no eggs were even hoped for in the winter. Then we awoke to a sense of our own stupidity, 
and began to do better; but very early we were obliged to recognize the importance of cli- 
matic conditions, and how much they were against us. Living on the top of a hill 740 feet 
above the sea, exposed to every wind particularly the north and east, with a heavy clay 
soil which held all moisture, and winters that begin early and end late,— one breed after 
another failed. Then by chance we bought a sitting of Ancona eggs. They hatched well, 
the chicks grew wonderfully fast, and when winter came seemed indifferent to soil and cli- 

54 



mate, and laid eggs when the ground was deeply covered witli snow and the thermometer 
far below the freezing point. At last we found the right breed, and have never kept any 
others since. The pullets frequently begin to lay at four months old, but it is well to keep 
them back if possible until six months old, when they settle down to steady egg production 
until they moult in the following year. The moult is not a serious business, and save for 
the freshness of the plumage they show little sign of what is going on. The permanence of 
type is very marked, it being quite easy to trace the decendants of a particular hen through 
five or six generations, and among the many hundred chickens hatched, we have never had 
a "sport." 

Heap Bros., Worst home, near Burnley, England: Anconas were imported into this 
country from Ancona, Italy, for their exceptional laying qualities, and the reception they 
met with has scarcely been equalled by that of any breed in recent years. They are indeed 
very profitable fowls from a utility point of view, as they mature very quickly, pullets very 
often commencing to lay when eighteen weeks old. 

Paul Boeger, in September 191 3, Poultry Keeper: Anconas are hardy, and layers of 
large white eggs. I have one hen that laid an average of twenty eggs per month for the 
year 1912. I have had experience with many breeds, but the Anconas are the most profit- 
able as they are wonderful winter egg producers. 

I. H. Bower, Aberdeen, Washington: I will discard all other breeds, as Anconas are 
good enough for me. 

]. F. Taylor, Route 3, Rising Star, Texas: I find Anconas the best layers I ever saw. 
My April hatched pullets are shelling out the eggs (October 4). I would not give them up 
for any other breed. 

J. K. Hotton, Clinton, S. C. : I have tried all kinds of chickens, and can truthfully 
say I have found Anconas the best in the world. 

A. W. Hoppock, VVenatchee, Wash.: My Anconas consume but f the amount of feed 
consumed by the heavier breeds, such as Rocks and Wyandottes. I have tried several 
breeds, and have decided that Anconas are the best. In 19 13 a flock of 35 Anconas gave 
me a net profit of $3.80 per hen. I used the trap nest and kept accurate account of 
everything. 

A. F. Rolf, Prof, in charge of Poultry, Cklahcma A. & M. College, Stillwater, Okla: 
Ancona pullet No. 385, bred and owned by the Oklahoma Agricultural College, laid her 
first egg April 27, 1914, at the age of 107 days. January 18 she was one of a lot of chick- 
ens placed in an express car and in three weeks travelled nearly 10,000 miles and were 
viewed by over 50,000 people, in the Demonstration Train. This treatment was not what 
one would think good for the chicks, but these little Anconas thrived and grew like weeds, 
— one making the remarkable record of 107 days from egg to egg. Another Ancona pullet 
laid her first egg May 3, at 113 days old. Up to May 12 (when this was written) none of 
the other breeds have produced their first egg. I never knew of such early egg production. 

Chris. Daniels, in Pacific Poultry Craft of June, 1914: I have Ancona hens in my 
breeding pens that were four years old this spring and they seem to lay just as well now as 
in their pullet year. My Anconas produce 40 per cent, more eggs than my Rock, and with 
not more rhan one-half the feed. 

H. S. Cashman, Altamont, Kan.: I have 21 Ancona hens that have laid 1737 eggs 
from Jan. I to July 15. I have one pullet that laid first egg at the age of four months and 
one week. 

C. T. Chapman, Canon City, Colo.: I have kept many different breeds, and I must 
say none of them are in it any jump on the road with Anconas. My Orpingtons will con- 
sume 40% more food than my Anconas, and the Anconas will lay 40% more eggs than the 
Orpingtons. My two and three year old Anconas seem to lay as well as pullets. I have 
ten Ancona pullets that began laying at 45 months old, in close confinement. 

5S 



C. H. Daniels & Son, Hoaquin, Wash.: Our Ancona pullets that were hatched Feb. 
23, began laying July 6; one of them has laid 14 eggs in 15 days. We trap nest. 

A. S. Hamlin, Dinuba, Calif.: Last winter I had in one pen eleven Anconas and 
twenty-six Orpingtons. From Dec. I, to March i, the eleven Anconas laid more eggs than 
the twenty-six Orpingtons, and of course ate much less. During the latter part of January 
a sudden thaw flooded my chicken house floor to the depth of about four inches. I found 
my Anconas wading around in it singing. The Orpingtons stopped laying for two weeks; 
the Anconas dropped from an average of eight, to six eggs per day. 

Dr. W. R. Burnt, Umatilla, Fla.: I brought my Anconas here from Los Angeles, Cal. 
I have two April-hatched pullets that have laid every day for ten weeks. 

Chas. A. Spooner, 17 Tweed St., Pawtucket, R. L: I have kept Anconas for three 
years and think they can't be beat. I have had calls for many more eggs for setting than 
I could supply this season; will be better equipped next year. 



1 EXCERPTS FROM LEADING AUTHORITIES | 

t * 

F. L. Sewell, poultry artist, judge and editor: The progress made 
by the Ancona in popular favor as an all-the-year-round egg producer is 
evidence of its true merit. Among the hardiest and busiest of the Medi- 
terraneans, they are of the type that always proved profitable in the pro- 
duction of large white eggs. The sight of hundreds of these mottled aristo- 
crats leaves an impression that the fancier never forgets. I saw a large 
flock of Anconas in Devonshire, England, over twenty years ago, and have 
never yet forgotten the thrill of admiration that brought with it the desire 
to possess such a group some day. A great number have already profited 
by the growing popularity of the Ancona. 

Lewis Wright, one of the greatest poultry authors and authorities : 
Anconas surpass Leghorns as winter layers, and stand frost and snow well. 
The chickens grow rapidly; they make plump and delicate table fowls. 
Anconas are remarkable for their hardiness. 

J. H. Drevenstedt, one of the most prominent poultry judges, editors 
and authors in America: 

The Ancona is generally believed to be one of our oldest breeds of 
poultry. If the size, type and stamina of Anconas are maintained the 
Ancona will become a favorite breed with both poultry fanciers and prac- 
tical poultry raisers. I have bred them, and found them excellent egg 
producers. 

56 



I THE ANCONA STANDARD! 

-* *■ 

THE complete Standard for Anconas is published by the American 
Poultry Association, and is protected by copyright, therefore it is 
not possible to reproduce it here. 

The Standard was revised in 1915, and the committee in charge con- 
sulted with the leading Ancona breeders and endeavored to embody in 
the new Standard the consensus of opinion of reliable Ancona breeders 
as to what an ideal Ancona should be. 

The Standard gives the disqualifications, shape of male and female 
separately, and color of the male and female separately. The Standard 
weights are given for the first time, and are as follows: Cock 5^ lbs.; 
Cockerel 4^ lbs.; Hen 4| lbs.; Pullet 3| lbs. These are same as Leghorn 
weights, except the Hen is | lb. heavier than that given to the Leghorn. 
Both the male and female Ancona is given a full-page illustration in the 
1915 Standard. 



AMERICAN I 

POULTRY I 

ASSOCIATIOIV I 

*- 

The American PoKiltry Association is the largest live stock organiza- 
tion in the world. It was organized in February 1873 at Buffalo, N. Y., 
and the following year the first Standard was published. Revised editions 
have been published each succeeding five years, and new breeds admitted, 
until now the new 1915 edition contains over 350 pages, is profusely il- 
lustrated, and is the only guide for selecting and judging every standard- 
bred breed of poultry, including turkeys, ducks, geese, and bantams. 
There is much valuable poultry information in the book, and it is a nec- 
essary possession of every successful fancier and breeder. The book is 
nicely bound in cloth, and sells at $2 per copy, postpaid. 

Life membership in the American Poultry Association costs $10. 
There are no annual dues. Anyone wishing to join the Association, or 
buy a copy of the latest Standard of Perfection may remit for same by 
money order, draft or check to The Ancona World, Franklinville, N. Y. 

S7 




I ANCONA ILLUSTRATIONS I 



%l^ORD descriptions fail to convey the true appearance of the beauti" 
ful Ancona. Therefore several specimen have been selected from 
different breeders, and are herewith shown. These engravings were made 
from photographs from life, and show Anconas as they may be seen in 
the yards of the best fanciers. Several prize-winning birds were rejected 
from this chapter because the photographs were retouched to such an 
extent as to make them unreal. The Ancona breeder who will strive for 
the patterns here shown will not go astray in producing as near ideal 
birds as it is possible to breed. 




First Prize Hen at Olean, N. Y., and 2nd at International Poultry Show, Buffalo, 
N. Y. Bred and exhibited by Beauty Poultry Farm. Franklinville, N. Y. 



58 




First Cockerel Madison Square Garden and Cleveland 1913. 
by Frank C. Stier, 2705 Marvin Ave., Cleveland, Ohio. 



Hatched and Owned 




Hen bred and owned by Beauty- 
Poultry Farm, Franklinville, N. Y. 



Hen bred and owned by W. H. 
Branthoover, 6115 Station Street, E. E., 
Pittsburgh, Pa. 



59 



c 



-angeuma: 




TJBST TBIZF ANCONA HEN 
QBEAT INISmATimAl SBmBUFFAl'^JAN-1912. 




First Prize Pullet bred and owned by C. K. Whitney. Route 9, Wichita, Kansas. 

60 




Ancona Cock, bred and owned by W. H. 
Branthoover, 6115 Station Street, E. E,, 
Pittsburgh, Pa, 




FIRST ANCONA HEN 



NEW YORK STATE FAIR. SEPT, 1913 
' ROCHESTER. JAN.. 1913 

GENEVA. DEC. 1912 
PENS VAN. JAN.. f9C2; SEPT. 1913 • 

BRED AND OWNED BY 

W. J. THAYER, Penn Yan, N. Y. 



U* 



6i 




Madison Square, New York, Prize Winning Hen, bred and 
exhibited by H. Cecil Sheppard, Berea, Ohio. 



62 




T^I^VT AnSNA^ULLEf WEW YORlf ST/^ FAIR 1914 
WARVET H- GL055ER • rbtiT Plain. N.' 



63 




64 




From a photograph of an incubator hatch on the Ancona farm of J. 0. 
Somers, Route 2, Bedford. Ohio. , 




This is the way Ancona chickens look when half grown. 



6S 



i;.j;.ii. ■H",...JH)«iJ 




Feathers showing V-shaped white tips, — the ideal Ancona marking. 
Cut loaned by Reliable Poultry Journal. 



66 




This high-tail cock would stand little chance of winning in an American 
show room. However he won 1st medal challenge cup, and 3 specials at the 
Grand International Show London, England, in 1911 and several other prizes; 
he was pictured in the annual club book. This bird was raised by Wm. E. 
Barber, Flixton, Manchester, one of the leading Ancona breeders of England. 
The English Anconas are heavily mottled, and generally carry high tails. 



(>! 




Engraving from a pen-drawing of a pair of England's prize-winning 
Anconas, showing much more white in the mottling than is permitted by the 
American Standard. 



68 



I WELL KNOWN ANCONA BREEDERS J 



■ T is a pleasure to show the faces of a goodly number of the men and 
' women who have helped to make Anconas widely known and popular 
throughout the United States. The breeders here shown have been 
known to the writer for years, and they have been active in Ancona 
matters and real boosters for the breed. 




W. H. Branthoover is a business man 
of Pittsburgh, Pa., and is the Dean of 
the Ancona business in America. His 
address is 6115 Station Street, East End. 
Mr. Branthoover began breeding Anco- 
nas in 1892, when they were new in this 
country. He has imported stock several 
times, was organizer of the Ancona Club 
of America and many times its president 
before it was consolidated with The An- 
cona Club. He has always been one of 
the live ones, an exhibitor at the large 
shows, and a writer en Ancona topics. 
He breeds single combs only. 



W. H. Branthoover 



L. G. Bingham is senior member of 
the firm L. G. Bingham & Son, breeders 
of single and rose comb Anconas, Lima, 
Ohio. They have bred Anconas since 
1910, and hatch nearly a thousand each 
year. Mr. Bingham has done good work 
in boosting the breed and the club, and 
has been eminently successful. 




L. G. Bingham 



69 




F. J. Howlet is a well-known An- 
cona breeder, living at 298 Dodd St., 
East Orange, New Jersey. He has 
both imported and exported, and is an. 
experienced breeder. He was Sec'y- 
Treas. of The Ancona Club until it 
was consolidated with the Ancona 
Club of America, and he is now on 
the Executive Board of the United 
tlub. 



F. J. HOWLETT 



J, E. Tipple of Union City, Indiana, not 
only is a breeder of Anconas, but is an in- 
ventor and manufacturer of poultry sup- 
plies. He has put out a brooder and auto- 
matic feeders that work successfully. Mr. 
Tipple is here shown with one of his prize- 
winning cockerels. 





J. E. TIPP E 

J. L. Hendry, 1212 South 26th 
Street, Louisville, Kentucky, is a 
clever Ancona breeder who has dis- 
carded all breeds but single comb 
Anconas, as they excel all others. 
Mr. Hendry has for 18 years been 
a railway postal clerk, and keeps 
about 125 birds on his eity lot. 
His Ancona advertising is original 
and catchy. 



J. L. Hendry 



70 



F. C. Stier, 2705 Marvin Ave., Cleve- 
land, Ohio, is originator of Hedgewood 
Strain single comb Anconas, which he 
has bred since 1908. They have won the 
blue ribbons at the largest shows in the 
country, including Madison Square and 
the Palace, New York; Pittsburgh, Cleve- 
land, Etc. Mr, Stier was a member of 
the Consolidating Committee of the 
United Ancona Club, and ior years has 
been one of the foremost Ancona men. 
In the summer of 1915 Mr. Stier was 
elected President of the Ohio State 
Branch of the American Poultry Asso- 
ciation. 





F. C. Stier 

G. A Bell is a civil engineer of 
Carnegie, Pa., and breeds single 
comb Anconas as a pastime. He 
raises about 200 each year, and has 
been successful in the show room in 
strong competition. He breeds for 
heavy egg production and large 
eggs, and has made rapid progress 
with the breed since he took it up 
in 1911. 



G. A. Bell 

C. K. Whitney, Route 9, Wichita, 
Kansas, is a farmer who raises more 
than a thousand single comb Anconas 
each year, and is preparing to double 
his capacity. He has bred them since 
1910, and likes them because they 
"make good" in the market egg busi- 
ness. Mr. Whitney never misses an 
opportunity to boost his favorite breed. 




C. K. Whitney 



71 




J. O. Somers, Route 2, Bed- 
ford, Ohio, is one of the most ex- 
tensive Aneona breeders in the 
United States. He has been at 
it for years, and is continually 
increasing his capacity, and ships 
eggs, baby chicks and mature 
stock to all parts of the world. 
His Anconas, both single and 
rose comb, are winners at the 
large shows. Mr. Somers was 
one of the prime movers in bring- 
ing about the consolidation of 
the Aneona clubs, and is the 
President of the United Aneona 
Club. He is the originator of 
Black Beauty Strain Anconas. 



J. O. Somers 



R. W. Van Hoesen, Franklin- 
ville. New York, has bred Anco- 
nas for fifteen years. He origi- 
nated Beauty Strain, and calls 
h's place Beauty Poultry Farm. 
He breeds both single and rose 
combs. In April 1910 Mr. Van- 



Hoesen established the Aneona World mag- 
azine, which has now been successfully publish- 
ed every month for nearly six years, and has 
done a great service to the Aneona cause. Mr 
VanHoesen served for years as President of the 
Aneona clubs, and has been Secretary of the 
United Aneona Club since its organization. 
He put out the first Aneona color plate, the 
only Aneona history published, and has con- 
tributed more Aneona articles to the public 
press than all other writers together. Besides 
his poultry and farm operations he has an ex- 
tensive printing and publishing business. 




R. w. Van Hoesen 



72 




Llewellyn Miles, 511 West 17th 
Street, Santa Ana, California, ihas 
bred Anconas for years, and in ,a 
state that is famous for its Anconas 
Mr. Miles is a conspicuous figure. 
He has done his share in popular- 
izing Anconas on the Pacific Slope, 
where they .are one of the leading 
breeds both in the. show iroom and 
on egg farms. 



LLBWELLYN MiLiES 



W. D. Farrand, proprietor of the 
Clearwater Poulty Yards, Central 
City, Nebraska, is one of the best 
known Ancona breeders of the 
middle-west. He breeds both 
single and rose comb. His Gold- 
Band Strain has won at such shows 
as Chicago, St. Louis, Denver, 
Topeka, etc., and also got the 
purple ribbon for highest Ancona 
record in the 3rd Missouri contest. 
He is active in Club affairs. During 
the past four years he has been 
Secretary of the Mid-State Show 
of Nebraska. 




W. D. Farrand 



'73 




Henry Scheyer 




Henry Scheyer, Silver Creek,New 
York, is a railroad telegraph opera- 
tor, and has been interested in An- 
C3nas for over twenty years. His 
birds have won the blue at New 
York, Chicago, Cleveland, St. Louis 
and scores of lesser shows. He has 
b?en active in club affairs, and 
served Ancona interests impartially 
in helping to bring about the con- 
solidation of the clubs. Mr. Schey- 
er is a member of the Executive 
Committee of the United Ancona 
Club. 




W. S. Rathbun 



H. R. Grow 
H. R. Grow, Salt Lake City, Utah, 
has been eminently successful with 
his Anconas in the show room. Mr. 
Grow is editor of the Western Poul- 
tryman, which he established. 

W. S Rathbun, 8 Kingsbury Ave., 
Jamestown, N. Y., has bred Anco- 
nas six years, and calls his strain 
Chautauqua Anconas. They have 
won for him at New York, Buffalo, 
Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and many 
other shows. He makes a specialty 
of day-old and 8-weeks-old chicks 
and breeds both single and rose 
combs. Mr. Rathbun is Secretary 
of the Chautauqua County Poultry 
Association, and Auditor of the 
United Ancona Club. 



74 



Miss Onida Kephart, of the Kep- 
hart Poultry Farm, Route 1, Osce- 
ola Mills, Pa., is one of the fore- 
most women Ancona breeders in 
the country. She has bred them 
since 1906, and with great success. 
Miss Kephart is a good advertiser, 
a good business woman, and a great 
Ancona enthusiast. She is Election 
Commissioner of the United Anco- 
na Clul). 





Miss onida Kephart 

Mrs. Adaline R. Gosler, Matfield Green, 
Kansas, does a S700 annual business with 
her Anconas, mostly from eggs. She is a 
well known poultry woman in the commu- 
nity and has done good work in popular- 
izing the breed. 



Mrs. a. R. Gosler 



Mrs. Robert H. Wood of Elmwood 
Farm, Route 3, Little Falls, New York, 
is a practical poultry woman, and has 
made a success of her single comb Anco- 
nas, which she has bred for four years. 
Mrs. Wood sells sterile market eggs,broil- 
ers and roasters, eggs for hatching, baby 
chicks, and breeding stock. 




MRS. R. H. WOOD 



75 




J C Branthoover 



The name of Branthoover is in- 
separably connected with the early 
history of Anconas in America, as 
the Branthoover brothers and their 
father were among the first import- 
ers of the breed to this country, 
formulated the Standard, and were 
active in the admission of the breed 
to the American Standard of Per- 
fection. Foremost in this pioneer 
work was J. C. Branthoover of 
Huntington, West Virginia, who not 
only was one of the first Ancona 
men in this country, but all these 
years has kept faith with the breed, 
and is now one of the prominent 
Ijreeders and fanciers. Mr. Branth- 
oover advises us that the very first 
Anconas in America were imported 
from England by Frances A. 
Mortimer of Pottsville, Pa. 



M. F. Howe, Winona Lake, In- 
diana, is a railroad man and an An- 
cona man, well and favorably 
known to the Ancona fraternity. 
He has bred them since 1907 and 
as he says, has tried not for money 
but with money to build up as 
good a strain of Anconas as can be 
found. He has succeeded. 




M. F HOWE 



76 




C. A. Martin is a contractor and 
builder, 72 Prospect Street, Man- 
chester, New Hampshire. Mr. 
Martin is well known in the East 
as a live Ancona man, and has 
started many beginners with An- 
conas. He is active in club afiairs, 
and is a member of the Executive 
Board of the United Ancona Club. 
His birds have won many prizes 
at the large eastern shows. He 
sells several thousand eggs and 
baby chicks each season. 



c. A. Martin 



John N. Lewis, Voluntown, Con- 
necticut, is one of the live Ancona 
breeders of the East. He breeds 
rose combs, and calls his poultry 
plant the Busted-The-Egg-Market 
Poultry Yards, which is rather an 
apt term for such excellent layers. 




John n. Lewis 



77 




Ed. Weber, Marshalltown, Towa, 
was born and educated in Switzerland, 
and became interested in Anconas in 
his native country. He breeds rose 
combs only, and is an experienced 
breeder. Mr. Weber is the only An- 
cona breeder that we know of in 
America who has visited the province 
in Italy where the breed originated. 
He has made a careful study of early 
Ancona history, and has written 
special articles on the breed for the 
poultry magazines. Several portions 
of this Ancona History were sumitted 
to him in manuscript, to which he 
gave strong endorsement. 



Ed. Weber 



C. H. Young, 208 East Adams 
Street, Los Angeles, California, is one 
of the most extensive breeders and 
importers of Anconas. He orginated 
the "Peerless" strain, and has them 
widely distributed and advertised in 
the west. He has started many breed- 
ers in the Ancona business, and is one 
of the best known Ancona boosters. 



THE NEWEST ANCONA BOOST 




Enameled Button 75 cents. 
Also furnished with Pin back. 

Every Ancona breeder should wear 
one of these pins or buttons. They are 
made by a large first-class Jewelry fac- 
tory. Remit for any number you can use. 
Ancona World, Frankiinville, N. Y. 




C. H. Young 



78 



^ ANCONA 
BREEDERS 
DIRECTORY 




Karl G. DItzell, Romulus, N. Y. 
J. Otis Burt, East Syracuse, N. Y. 
Adolphe Guillemette, 79 Center St., 

Holyoke, Mass. 
Allen H.Davis, Newman, N. Y. 
A. C. Apps, Box 224, Brantford, 

Ontario, Canada. 
A. B. Mason, Route i, San Diego, Calif. 
Harry A. Brodbeck, Route 5, St. Marys, O. 
J. F. Graae, 24 Market St., Perth Am. 

boy. New Jersey. 
S. S. Kilkenny, Delhi, N. Y, 
E. F. Wyman, Brunswick, Ohio. 
Frank C. Stier, 2705 Marvin Ave., 

Cleveland, Ohio. 
C. K. Whitney, Route 9, Witchita, Kans. 
VV. D. Farrand, 1815 Twelfth St., 

Central City, Nebraska. 
Fred W. Nancekivell, no OrondoAve., 

Wenatchee, Wash. 
James L. Hendry, 1212 South 26 St., 

Louisville, Kentucky. 
C. L. Hawley, Montrose, Colo. 
J. L. Avinger, Bangs, Texas. 
J. Craig Havemeyer, Marshfield Center, 

Mass. 
G. A. Bell, Grant & Center Avenues, 

Carnegie, Pa. 
H. R. Walker, 102 South Dearborn St., 

Mobile, Alabama. 
Mrs. W. B. Kent, Coatesville, Pa. 
C. A. Mason, Route 2, Brandon, Texas. 
C. H. Price,5oThurman Park, Everett, Mass. 



John Lohrbach, Route 2, Walnut 

Grove, Minn. 
Geo. M. Rathburn, Charleston, Kanawha 

Co., West Virginia. 
W. M. Scott & Son, Se.wickley, Pa. 
L. G. Bingham, 927 Fairview Avenue, 

Lima Ohio. 
John N. Lewis, Voluntown, Conn. 
Miss Maud Hathaway, Cannonsville.N.Y. 
M. F. Howe, Winona Lake, Ind. 
Charles A. Spooner, 17 Tweed St., 

Pawtucket, Rhode Island. 
Mrs. Robt. H. Wood, Route 3, Little 

Falls, N. Y. 

Mrs. Jay E. Miller, 2223 Fifteenth St., 

Tuscaloosa, Alabama. 
Urban Farms, Pine Ridge, Buffalo, N. Y. 
Everett W. Bishop, Union City, Pa. 
Henry Scheyer, Silver Creek, N. Y. 
Miss Onida Kephart, Route I, Osceola 

Mills, Pa. 
W. H. Branthoover, 6115 Station St., 

E. E., Pittsburgh, Pa. 
R. J. Tugwell, 1016 So. Fourth Street, 

Maywood, 111. 
A. C. Ilten, 816 Nineteenth Ave., West, 

Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 
Rev. W. J. G. Bockstahler, Route 2, 

Evansville, Indiana. 
Wm. S. Rathbun,8 Kingsbury Ave., 

Jamestown, N. Y. 
Landon C. Moore, 209^ Lane St., 

Dallas, Texas. 
T. E. Silva, Haywood Heath, Calif. 
J. A. Biehler & Co., Strasburg, 111. 
Charles V. Fox, 313 West 6 St., 

Bicknell, Ind. 
Howard S. Rich, 72 Dwight St., 

Springfield, Mass. 
J. C. Branthoover, Huntington, W. Va. 
Beauty Poultry Farm, Franklinville, N.Y . 




I was the only 
ANCONA BREEDER 

on the entire Pacific Coast who ex- 

hibited at more than two shows out- 1 

side of his immediate vicinity-WHY ? 

I knew that for type and color I 

had ''THE BEST" 

Winners of 1st at 7 Big Coast Shows in- 
cluding Hamilton, Ohio. Send for Mating 
list. 

T. E. SILVA 
Hayward Heath, • • - Calif. 




79 



^ DOES - THIS - LOOK i 
^ GOOD - TO - YOU? 




I 



This is why there is such an increasing demand 

for my ANCONAS 

SHEPPARD'S FAMOUS ANCONAS 

Have won first at the world's greatest shows, including Lon- 
don, Eng., Cleveland and Madison Square, N, Y. For six consecu- 
tive years my birds have won there times as many 1st and 2nd prizes 
at the Nation's greatest shows as all my competitors together, so 
have earned the distinction of being THE WORLD'S BEST. 
They are famous egg machines and the greatest winter layers, with 
the wonderful egg record of 256 average for a flock. If you want to 
win at your show or increase your egg production, write for catalog. 
Orders booked now for eggs and baby chx' s. A fine lot of stock for sale. 

H. Cecil 8be|)fidrd 



i 






Box M5, 



BEREA, OHIO 

President International Ancona Club. 



80 




(R. W. VanHoesen) 

Franklinville, New York 



Our position in the Ancona field: 

Secretary of the United Ancona Club. { 

Founder, editor and publisher of The Ancona J 

World. ) 

Author of the Ancona History. ) 

Producer of the first Ancona Color Plate. ) 

Vice-President of the Ancona Club of England. | 
Vice-President of the Cattaraugus County Poul- I 

try Association. i 

Life member American Poultry Association. 
Donor to Lecture Bureau of American Poultry 

Association, of hand colored stereopticon plates of 

Anconas. 

Special writer on Anco/ia subjects to poultry 

press. 



"Beauty Strain" Anconas, both Single and Rose Comb, our 

own production, the true Ancona type. We have been 

breeding Anconas exclusively for years. Stock and eggs 

for sale at all times. 



F= 



GET RESULTS 



J.N the States where Big Four Suc- 
cessful Poultry Journal circulates more 
than 40% of the chickens of the Unit- 
ed States are raised, All of this rich 
territory is open to you when you ad- 
vertise in Big Four Successful Poultry 
Journal. There are no better poultry 
states, as a proup, than Illinois, Iowa, 
Missouri, Indiana, Michigan; Ohio and 
Wisconsin. That is where Big Four 
Successful Poultry Journal circulates 
almost exclusively. That is where 
this publication exerts its great in- 
fluence. From these states is where 
you'll get BIG results if you use our 
publication properly. 

To aid you in getting the greatest 
possible results from your advertising 
expenditure we maintain a Service 
Department to write and design your 
advertising. Expert ad writers do it 
without charge. 

Write T-o-d-a-y for further infor- 
jnation and advertising rates. 
Sample copy free. 

H. S. Wetziep, Bus. 

BIG FOUR SUCCESSFUL 

POULTRY JOURNAL 

445 Plymouth Court 

CHICAGD - - ILLS. 



82 




^^^^^^i^li^Eis^^i^S^^SMPv^^Si^M^^H^i.^aS^^'i^E^^^^^^H^^^lgiii^H^fi^SSSM^^^ 



m Breeders of White Plymouth Rocks, Black Langshans, S C. is 

^ Anconas. Prof. Graham's Ontario Agricultured College laying strain, ^ 

M Barred Plymouth Rocks, Tom Barrens best stram S, C. White Leg- ^ 

^ horns, and White Wyandottes imported from him direct. Black tailed ^ 

^ White Japanese Bantams, Mille Fleurs and Silkies and Naked Necks. ^^ 




or v€ry 



9Q • B • 



J. o. 



ROUTE 2 



BEDFORD, OHIO 



i STOCK ANCONA CUTS i 

The Ancona World has for years been securing the largest and 
best assortment of Ancona engravings in existence. Most of them are 
fiom original plates made expressly for this magazine at considerable 
expense. Duplicates will be sent postpaid anywhere on receipt of price. 
These cuts should be used by Ancona breeders everywhere to illustrate 
their catalogs, circulars, letter heads, envelopes, cards, tags, etc. Remit 
the most convenient way to The Ancona World, Franklinville, N. Y. 




Cut No. 1 

Line Drawing 

Ideal Ancona Cock 

$1.50 postpaid 



Cut No. 2 

Line Drawing 

Ideal Ancona Hen 

$1.50 postpaid 




84 





Line cut No. 3 

Ideal Ancona Cock 

(small) $1.25 



Line cut No. 4 

Ideal Ancona Hen 

(small) $1.25 



The above cuts are suitable size for letter heads, envelopes, cards, etc., and will 
print nicely on any kind of paper. Can furnish male and female mounted on one base for $1.50. 




Line cut No. 5 
Ancona cock and hen. (Large) $1.50 



Line cut No. 6 
Ancona cock and hen. (small) 1.25 




85 




i-S-^H. 



Line cut No. 7 
Ancona cock $1.25 




Line cut No. 8 
Ancona hen $1 .25 



mm- 


5S\ 


■k: 





Lut No. 9 

Half-tone Ancona chicks 

75 cents 



*,4^ 



3;r^.-. 






Cut No. 10 

Half-tone Ancona chicks 

Price $1 

86 




Cut No. 1 \ 

Half-tone Ideal Ancona Pair 

Price ^1.25 





Cut No. 12 
Half-tone Ideal Ancona Cock 
Price $1 



Cut No. 13 
HaK-tone Ideal Ancona Hen 
Price $1 




Cut No. 14 

Half-tone Ideal Ancona Pair 

Our only cut of Rose Combs. Price $1.50 

87 




The Lnion Automatic Dry 
yiash feeder and Exerciser 



Latest and best invention in mash feeders. Non- 
chokable, no waste, an exerciser; attractive, up-to-date, 
portable, uses small space. Sets anywhere, is light and 
durable. It will add health and vigor to your poultry, 
increase egg production and fertility. Sanitary, just the 
feeder for your breeding pens. Price only $3.50. 

Order one today. Circular free. 

J. E. Tipple 



Union City, 



Indiana. 



I Inverness Ancona Yard» 

I 1212 so. 26 TH ST. 

i LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY 

\ "When you think of a Hen Think of Hendry." 

\ Price of Eggs: 

1 Exhibition Pens, $2.50 per 15 

i Utility Pens. $1.50 per 15 



Anconas are the egg producers Hendry, he has 'em 



I 



ft Few ot our Mail-Ordor Leaders: 

Rubber Stamps — One line 25 cents; each additional line, 10 cents. 
Ready-Inked Stnmp Pads. 25 cents. 

Typewriter Ribbons — Any color for any machine, 65 cents. 
Linen- Marking Outfit — Name stamp, pad and indel'ible ink. 50 cents. 
Seal Presp — Notaries, corporations, etc., $2. 

Fraternal Society Cards — Any emblem embossed in colors, 50 for $1.25; 100 $1.75. 
Masonic Monitors — Secret Cipher for Kice Lodge, leather, $2.50. (Must give 
jmc and number of your lodge and name and address of Secretary.) 



Orders filled promptly. 



Goods always stnt prepaid. 



THE SPECIALTY COMPANY 

FRANKLINXILLE, NEW YORK 



INDEX 



Title Page - - . p^ge i 

Color Plate - - - . 3 



Introduction 



5 



Origin of Anconas - . - _ g 

History of Anconas - - . 7 

Purity of Anconas - - -9 

Description of Anconas - - _ n 

Ancona Type " - - 12 

Ancona Characteristics - - I5 

Ancona Mating - - - 18 

Anconas In England - - - 19 

Anconas In Egg-Laying Contest - - 22 

Don't Minorcaize Anconas - - - 23 

Why The Specialty Club - - - 24 

United Ancona Club - - - 25 

Ancona Experience - - - 26 

The Fancy Poultry Business - - - 28 

Illustrate Your Breed - - - 31 

Line Breeding - - - - 32 

Ollapodrida - - - 34 

Use of Toe-Punch - - . 35 

Color Plate Endorsed - - - 36 

Why I Am Breeding Anconas - - 38 

Map of Italy Showing Location of Ancona - 39 

How A Success Was Made With Anconas - - 40 

Twelve Ancona Points - - - 45 

Poultry Item Commends Anconas - - 47 

Symposium of Breeders - - - 49 

Excerpts From Leading Authorities - - - 56 

Ancona Standard - - - 57 

American Poultry Association - - - 57 

Ancona Illustrations - . . 58 

Well Known Ancona Breeders - - - 69 

Ancona Breeders Directory - _ - 79 

Advertisements - - - .79 

Stock Ancona Engravings - - - 84 

89 



©w©!? ESsi®llIl Fms-im 



THE FARM OF 

ERIVST Z. BOWER 

OLIVE Y, ILL. 

BREEDERS OF BOWER'S CELEBRATED 



ANCONAS 



Winners wherever shown, and we show them. 

THERE ARE NO BETTER 

Get our Catalogue and Mating List. 




We are Life Members American Poultry Association and Ancona Club of America. 
Our Manager is Illinois State Vice President of the United Ancona Club. 

Address all Correspondence to 




OLNEY, ILL. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



002 841 021 9 



